When I wrote in my last blog post that I anticipated that there would be setbacks before the end of the season, I wasn’t expecting one to arrive this quickly. But if you wanted to see an illustration of the difference between a Premier League game and a European one, this was it. Chalk and cheese.
Whereas Arsenal are one of the very best teams in England, and are generally able to bully inferior English opposition much of the time, this game seemed to be played to a different set of rules. Cagey. Tactical. The sort of encounter that sets your teeth on edge in frustration.
Not that I’m knocking how Porto set up and played. They have every right to play how they want, and by the end of the match, the end justified the means. Horrendous watch though it may have been. And amongst all the clever blocking off of Arsenal’s attacking lines, and exploitation of wide areas that enabled them to relieve pressure and hit Arsenal on the break, came all the European trickery and gamesmanship that so differentiates the EPL from the UCL.
Diving at every piece of contact. Staying down longer than necessary. Loads of arm-waving and anguished facial expressions. And they soon realised that they were being officiated by a referee who was prepared to fall for all that nonsense; there’s no way that the likes of Taylor, Oliver or Atwell would have bought that nonsense. In total, the ball was only in play for 50 minutes of the 90, and 36 fouls were committed (or blown for, I should say). Ref, they saw you coming!
Nowhere was this better illustrated than at set pieces. Wary of Arsenal’s burgeoning reputation, Porto sought to disrupt on the very edge of the Law. And got away with it; even, at times, impeding each other in their desperation to disrupt Arsenal! Here, for example, do not focus on the goalkeeper, but instead look at what's being done to Kivior.
Although, as I say that, I can recall two missed far post headers that could easily have changed the course of the game, and a volleyed opportunity for Trossard that would have been a contender for Goal of the Season!
Nonetheless, the sight of bodies littering the goalmouth at corners was reminiscent of a battlefield at times! Yet, when all is said and done, the statistics show that despite dominating the ball Arsenal failed to have a single shot on target - and could/should have conceded more than the one they did.
So where did it go wrong for Arsenal? I'd mainly put it down to a form of naivete. The strting XI featured a sole player with any Champions League knock-out phase experience; Kai Havertz with 16 appearances. None of the other 10 had played a single game of this magnitude in Europe (and yes, I am including Declan Rice's Europa Conference League Final). By contrast, Pepe alone had 47 appearances before last night, and has won the trophy three times!
Arsenal sought to impose themselves from the start, but Porto played to a different rhythm; cutting off the passing lanes, and disrupting as much as they could. This is what playing in this sort of tie is like, and we were soon reminded quite how tough it can be. From the moment that Rice was booked for an over-exuberant challenge in the third minute, I could sense that Arsenal weren't going to be allowed to roll all over this lot.
For all of their dominance of the ball, Arsenal did little constructive with it, and looked most dangerous at the afore-mentioned set pieces. Martinelli and Saka were kept surprisingly quiet, Odegaard couldn't find the decisive passes he's becoming known for and dropped deeper and deeper, Trossard struggled to find space, and Havertz looked timid. Behind them, Saliba had an uncharacteristically nervous time of it, and made several unusual errors. Rice, however - and especially bearing in mind the early booking - was diligent in his work, and has yet another 8/10 game.
But something was missing. And I'll tell you what I think; a lack of experience - both on the coaching side and on the field - prevented Arsenal from dealing with what was an entirely alien challenge compared to what they've faced recently. It feels easier to play against the likes of Liverpool than a team like Porto, and the loss of the missing Zinchenko and - particularly - Jesus was keenly felt. Jorginho's presence may also have been useful.
It was all so very frustrating, but there was - of course - no need to force matters. It's a two-leg affair, with the second leg at home. Under normal circumstances - and barring mishaps - the task ought not be/have been beyond Arsenal. With the crowd behind them in the second leg, it's likely to be an entirely different game at The Emirates. Which made the last minute concession of a goal doubly or triply frustrating.
And the goal illustrated that naivete about what's needed at this level. Arsenal had several chances to clear the ball from Porto's final attack, but failed once, twice, and finally a third time as Martinelli's highly optimistic raking cross-field pass towards Saka (had it reached him, to be fair, Porto were outnumbered), was intercepted by Borges, who swiftly located Galeno. The striker dropped his shoulder and cut inside Rice (who was slow to close him down) before hitting an unstoppable curling shot into the very far corner of Raya's net.
I'm not having it from critics of the goalkeeper, who claim that he was out of position. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say that it was unsavable; I'm not sure that it mattered where Raya was positioned, as the ball curved from well outside the frame of the goal into the corner of the net. It was, frankly, the least that Galeno deserved, having come so close to giving Porto a first half lead when he hit a post and then failed to bury the rebound that landed at his feet.
So where are we now with this? Well, Arsenal contrived to lose 2-1 in Lens in the group stages, yet won the return game 6-0. Could history repeat itself? It would be nice to think so, but I'm certainly not expecting a rout. What I am expecting is a white hot atmosphere, and Arsenal to offer up a different and more effective challenge to Porto. They'll be content to sit back and suffocate Arsenal - it's probably their best hope, and they now have something to cling to. I'm not as confident as I was, but I still think we'll do it.
Meantime, it s quick turnaround to Newcastle on Saturday. Minds, as well as legs, will be fatigued. Arteta will need to make changes, so let's hope that we get some injured players back. We owe Newcastle, but what went on yesterday will inspire some ideas in Eddie Howe. Lest we forget that he, his obnoxious assistant Tindall and the team itself are master shithousers at the best of times. Expect more of the same, and a struggle; unless Arsenal get an early goal.
Let's make sure we get behind the boys on Saturday night. COYG!!!
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