Trapped 1-0 in the first leg, Arsenal must overthrow Porto on Tuesday April 12 to reach the quarters of the Champions League, a competition that the club is rediscovering after a long absence and with a squad with limited experience.
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At the Dragon stadium, in the round of 16 first leg, the “Gunners” burned their wings with a goal from Galeno in added time, a fatal and avoidable stab at the end of a lackluster encounter. “ The handbrake was a little too tight. Was it inexperience? “, asked former Arsenal defender Martin Keown on broadcaster TNT Sports. At kick-off, the English club had eight players who had discovered the Champions League this season, such as goalkeeper David Raya, defender William Saliba, midfielder Declan Rice and striker Bukayo Saka.
FC Porto and its European culture
Captain Martin Odegaard had only played two matches with Real Madrid in 2020 and his defender Gabriel, four more with Lille in 2019. Of all the starters, only Kai Havertz, with around forty matches already in his baggage, had already played a knockout match.
The European culture of FC Porto, double winner of the competition (1987 and 2004), was also probably missed by Arsenal, back in C1 for the first time since 2016-2017. When the Gunners were watching Greater Europe on TV, the Portuguese competed continuously, with the exception of the 2019-2020 season which was stopped in the 3rd qualifying round. They even reached the eighth (2018 and 2023) and the quarters (2019 and 2021) twice. At the club, no one embodies this great experience better than captain Pepe, a 41-year-old veteran defender, the same age as Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
On the first leg, the Portuguese international guided his troops with 119 matches, and three titles (with Real Madrid), in the Champions League with a cunning that was lacking in the young English guard. Porto dictated its tempo with choppy play and numerous mistakes, and Arsenal then regretted not having been more clever.
History can also be a source of hope. The last time Arsenal reached the quarter-finals, in 2010, it was at the expense of FC Porto. Arsène Wenger’s Gunners took on water in the first leg (2-1 defeat), before defeating the Portuguese in London (5-0).