It’s been 14 years since Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and this defeat reminds us why.
It was a classic European knockout match, as Porto used every trick imaginable to get the match they wanted. It was cautious and disjointed, and the only moment of quality came when winger Galeno scored the only goal of the game in stoppage time.
Mikel Arteta has spoken of his team’s lack of fun at this level, and of his starting XI last night, only Kai Havertz had played in a Champions League knockout match.
It showed, and while Galen’s goal was a brilliant goal, Arsenal were guilty of giving the ball away too profitably with only seconds left.
If you can’t win the game, then you don’t lose it. I’m disappointed that we let them score at the end.
Mikel Arteta
They’re still confident they can turn that tie around at the Emirates Stadium in two weeks’ time, but it has to be more than that.
“I’m very disappointed with the way we gave the game at the end, for not managing this scenario well enough,” Arteta said. “In the Champions League you’re punished. If you can’t win it, you don’t lose it.
Arsenal were quick to be briefed under Arteta, and will have to continue to do so to ensure he ends a run of seven consecutive outings at this level of the Champions League.
There are no easy games at this stage and Porto have shown that they are a difficult opponent.
Led by captain Pepe, who turns 41 on Monday, the hosts controlled the game and turned it into a duel of stops and starts.
They were temporarily aware of referee Serdar Gozubuyuk’s willingness to blow the whistle, as evidenced by his decision to caution Declan Rice just over a minute later, and used it to their advantage.
In the end, there were 36 fouls, the most in a Champions League match this season. The ball also remained in play for just over 50 minutes, the least in the first leg of the 16-minute circular of the last fortnight.
Porto interrupted play and stifled Arsenal’s creativity. After scoring 21 goals in five games, the Gunners haven’t even controlled a shot on target here.
They were well organised and invaded the midfield with two defensive midfielders.
The end result was that Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard dug deeper and deeper to win the ball back, with the Gunners’ forward line isolated.
Porto, in all honesty, didn’t create much either: Galen squandered an excellent chance in the first half. After hitting the post, the winger left the goal open a few yards away, but shot wide of the rebound. This surprised everyone, even the PA announcer, who put on music assuming they were launching the balloon.
Galen made amends with his late goal, and Arsenal’s frustration is that they were just moments away from what would have been a smart result. Now they have to find a way to make up for the deficit at home, and Porto showed last night that they can be satisfied.
The current Arsenal have shown that they are capable of surprising teams, but we will have to learn from this lesson.
Arsenal will want to play with the aggression and intensity of recent weeks, and a noisy Emirates Stadium will help them achieve that.
The same goes for the state of the game. This game went on too long and Arsenal took it by the throat.
“What we want to do is clear,” Arteta said. It’s clearer now than before.
“We have to be in the quarter-finals, we have to beat the opponent and we are going through it to prepare for that and for our fans to be able to see it. We have to create a special atmosphere and we have to go through that. “Give momentum to the game and manage the game very well, because today it was foul after foul.
The last time Arsenal reached the quarter-finals, in 2010, they were in the same position. Coincidentally, Porto were the opposite side and the Gunners came back from a one-goal defeat in the first leg to win 5-0.
This current Arsenal team has shown that it is capable of surprising teams, but they will have to be informed from a night when Porto gave them a lesson in intelligence on the street.
If they don’t, Arteta will be able to fulfil his dream of Arsenal ending their long wait to win the Champions League by lifting the trophy at Wembley in June.
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