Arsenal show old Champions League frailties as last-16 veterans Porto punish tentative Gunners | OneFootball

Arsenal players look dejected after conceding a goal.

A mature performance on the road in a Champions League last-16 first leg for Arsenal became a tentative and inexperienced showing after Galeno’s last-gasp wonder goal for Porto.

Arsenal’s return to knockout football in the Champions League saw them travel to Porto, seasoned campaigners who have reached this stage of the competition 13 times since they won the competition in 2004. From those 13 occasions, they have progressed to the last eight four times, which is not a poor record by any stretch of the imagination. A club outside of the big five leagues reaching the last eight should not be understated.

Mikel Arteta’s team went to Portugal in the finest of form, winning five out of five in the Premier League and scoring 21 goals in the process in 2024. Instead of carrying their free-flowing football into the fixture against Porto, they refused to take risks on the ball and struggled to test a team with a good structure and danger on the counter attack.

A lot has been said about Arsenal’s inability to get beyond this stage of the Champions League but that should not have been on the minds of this current crop of players. It is a long time since they were battered 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. This is a completely different team with an incredible up-and-coming manager.

It is hard for the fans to forget those previous European exploits, though, and while it should not be in the minds of the players, it felt like it was. Either that, or this was another case of a team not taking risks on the road thanks to the loss of the away goals rule. We miss it so bad.

Their approach to the fixture was cagey and it quickly looked like Arsenal were happy to take a 0-0 draw back to the Emirates.

Arteta’s men dominated possession without ever testing Diogo Costa in the Porto goal. Their only chances to score came from corners, which they had ten of.  Arsenal were confident on the ball but could not get Gabriel Martinelli or Bukayo Saka into the game. Neither player was able to get into one-on-one situations against the opposing full-backs and Martin Odegaard was not receiving the ball in between the lines.

Arsenal might have been going through the motions and they should be criticised for that, but they played into Porto’s hands thanks to a solid gameplan from Arteta’s opponent in the dugout, Sergio Conceicao.

The hosts were the superior and more dangerous side without having the ball. The back four were solid as a rock. Alan Varela protected the defence perfectly, showing any aspiring defensive midfielder how to operate in the No. 6 role. And the wide men for Porto, Galeno and the manager’s son, Francisco Conceicao, looked menacing on the rare occasion they could get at the Arsenal backline. It is worth noting that there is no nepotism going on here. Conceicao is pretty good.

It was a 94th-minute beauty from Galeno that won Porto the game, but the Brazilian winger should have given Conceicao’s men the lead in the opening half. It was a remarkable moment that saw Galeno smash the ball onto the post after some awful defending from William Saliba, before hitting the rebound – from yards out and with David Raya flat-footed – just past the post. He really ought to have scored both times.

That should have been the shot in the arm this Arsenal performance required but it was not.

The second half remained passive and Arteta’s decision to swap Leandro Trossard for Jorginho emphasised his desire to take a goalless draw back to north London.

Arsenal vs Porto at the Emirates is not for another three weeks and it will be a completely different match. Porto will be deeper, which is not ideal for Arsenal, but the Gunners will find more space and a 40-year-old Pepe will be isolated, unlike on Wednesday at the Dragao.

The Gunners will have learned a harsh lesson from defeat in Portugal and they do say you learn more from your losses than your wins. Experience is a big thing, which Porto have, and so is history, which does not benefit Arsenal when it comes to getting past the last 16 of the Champions League.

Indeed, the approach at home will be different, it will be more positive, it will be more like the Arsenal we have seen this year. That is as long as this squad of young players remembers that this is their own time and not to dwell on the past. It is also important not to dwell on this result and it feels like Arteta will not let that happen.

F365 Says