Arsenal fell to defeat against Porto in the first leg of their Champions League clash against Porto and will have to improve when they return to the Emirates in three weeks time
It was a brutal return to the knockout stages of the Champions League for Arsenal on Wednesday night.
The Gunners looked set to navigate their first leg against Porto at the Estadio Do Dragao with honours even until Galeno’s stoppage-time strike. The Brazilian forward took matters into his own hands with seconds remaining and unleashed a curling shot from 20 yards to beat David Raya and earn the win.
Mikel Arteta’s side failed to record a shot on target across the 90 minutes and now must overcome a deficit to move into the quarter-finals of the competition.
They will hope to not extend a disappointing record after becoming one of five teams to lose five successive knockout stage matches in addition to Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic and Real Madrid. Mirror Football takes a look at the latest Arsenal news below.
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Arteta’s blunt assessment
The Arsenal boss expected better from his side and believes that they did not take enough care with the ball across the course of 90 minutes. The Spaniard acknowledged the Gunners were not threatening enough and was disappointed not to see more aggression.
He told TNT Sport: “Obviously we have to manage much better when you cannot win. The way we handled the ball on three occasions in deep areas is not good enough. And then it’s half-time. If you want to win the quarter-finals, you have to beat your opponent. And this is what we have to do at the Emirates now.”
“We lacked threat,” Arsena’s head coach added. “We lacked much more threat, more aggression [was needed] especially when we had the ball in the final third, especially in the back as well, more purpose to help them. So we will tweak a few things to attack better especially because to be fair we haven’t conceded [chances] at all but we can do better.”
Suspension tightrope
To add insult to injury, Declan Rice will be left in a precarious situation in the second leg against Porto. The England midfielder picked up a yellow card just two minutes into Arsenal’s last-16 clash on Wednesday night.
Rice was slow to respond as the ball head in his direction and was forced to dive in on Galeno, with the referee quick to brandish a yellow card as a result. It is the 25-year-old’s second caution of the competition thus far and one more will see him suspended.
Of course, Arsenal will need to overcome their first-leg defeat when they return to the Emirates but Rice will be required to drive his team to victory while keeping his disciplinary record in check.
According to UEFA rule 52.02: “From the first match in the group stage, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, which did not result in a red card, as well as following any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.).”
Rio Ferdinand assessment
The former Manchester United defender said that Arsenal were ‘a shadow of themselves’ in defeat to Porto. Ferdinand believes the north London side’s inability to test Diogo Costa cost them, and given their performance would have been happy with a goalless draw.
“They were managing the game OK,” explained the TNT Sports pundit. “I said in the first half the transitions were hurting them and I thought they good control at parts, but at this level you’ve got to create chances, get beyond teams and make keepers work and Arsenal never really got to that stage today.
“I think they would have been happy with a 0-0 after the way the game panned out but this is the level we’re at. When you get to knockout football in the Champions League, this is the top level. You have to approach these games right and if you make mistakes and give the ball away cheaply at this level you get punished.”
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
