Arsenal suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Porto in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie on Wednesday, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the return leg at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners, who were making their first appearance at this stage of the competition since 2017, failed to create many clear-cut chances and conceded a late goal from a corner kick.
Porto punish Arsenal’s lack of creativity
The hosts, who had won their previous five games in all competitions, started brightly and put pressure on Arsenal’s defence. They had a couple of opportunities to take the lead in the first half, but were denied by some good saves from Bernd Leno. Arsenal, on the other hand, struggled to find their rhythm and looked disjointed in attack. Their best chance came from a free kick by Nicolas Pepe, which was tipped over by Agustin Marchesin.
The second half was more of the same, as Porto continued to dominate possession and territory, while Arsenal failed to pose any threat. The visitors were reduced to long-range shots and hopeful crosses, which were easily dealt with by Porto’s backline. The deadlock was finally broken in the 78th minute, when Mehdi Taremi headed in a corner from Otavio, sending the home fans into raptures.
Arteta rues missed opportunity
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left frustrated by his team’s performance and admitted that they had wasted a golden opportunity to get a positive result. He said that his players lacked the intensity and quality required to compete at this level and that they had to improve significantly in the second leg.
“We are very disappointed with the result and the way we played. We were not at the level that this competition demands. We gave away a cheap goal and we didn’t create enough chances to score. We have to be much better in the second leg if we want to have any chance of going through,” he said.
Arteta also dismissed the suggestion that his team were affected by their poor record at this stage of the competition, having been eliminated in the last 16 in their previous seven attempts. He said that his team were detached from the club’s history and that they had to focus on the present.
“I don’t think that has anything to do with it. This is a different team, a different moment, a different competition. We have to deal with the situation that we have right now and try to overcome the challenge that we have in front of us,” he said.
Porto confident of reaching quarter-finals
Porto coach Sergio Conceicao was delighted with his team’s performance and praised their defensive solidity and offensive efficiency. He said that his team had executed their game plan perfectly and that they had deserved to win.
“I think we were superior in every aspect of the game. We were very organized, very compact, very aggressive. We didn’t allow Arsenal to play their game and we created some good chances to score. We scored a very important goal and we could have scored more. I’m very happy with the result and the way we played,” he said.
Conceicao also expressed his confidence that his team could finish the job in the second leg and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2019. He said that his team had shown that they could compete with anyone and that they had to maintain their level of performance and concentration.
“We know that Arsenal are a great team, with a lot of quality and experience. We know that the second leg will be very difficult and that we have to respect them. But we also know that we have a very good team, with a lot of character and ambition. We have shown that we can play against any team in Europe and that we can win. We have to go to London with the same mentality and the same attitude that we had today,” he said.
