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Arteta speaks on resting players for their midweek Europa League clash against Sporting Lisbon.
Mikel Arteta suggested that he will not be doing any major rotations in their Europa League second-leg encounter against Sporting Lisbon, as they are determined to win the tie.
Arsenal drew 2-2 against Sporting in Portugal, and it is all to play for when they host the Leoes on Thursday for a chance to advance to the next round of the competition.
What Arteta said
Mikel Arteta was speaking in the pre-game press conference for their Europa League round of 16 second-leg clash against Sporting Lisbon when he was asked if he was going to be resting players.
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Arteta's reply suggested that was not on the cards, as he said they wanted to go all out to win the game and admitted they had to surpass their performance in the first-leg if they were to achieve it.
"We are looking to win," Arteta said when asked if he would rotate players.
"As we tried in Lisbon. We are going to have to do better than we did in Lisbon to beat Sporting tomorrow.”
Arteta on Arsenal's defence
Arsenal conceded two goals against Sporting in the first-leg, and they could have conceded more as they were porous at the back.
Arteta was dissatisfied with his team's defending on the day but was happy with their clean sheet in the following league game against Fulham, saying his team were more aggressive and showed more desire.
"It was a big difference [the game against Fulham, compared to the draw against Sporting]; they decide to win the ball back, the aggression that we showed, how we defend the boxes, and that's very good."
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"It's something we have to show tomorrow. Against top qualities in Europe, they punish you immediately if you give them some space. Certainly, tomorrow that cannot be the case."
Arsenal host Sporting Lisbon tomorrow night at the Emirates Stadium.
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