by Mikel Arteta has known nothing but frustration at Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League. When he was a player, he tasted victory at this stage of the competition for five consecutive seasons – part of a wider run of seven finals appearances from 2011 to 2017. .
That was then. But here, after a stressful night in Porto against a team more experienced in this type of event, when the edges were so thin, Arteta found the same feeling of being under water.
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Nothing has been decided yet. And Arsenal will take heart from the last time they won a Champions League final. It was in 2010 against Porto that they overcame a 2-1 first-goal deficit from this impressive venue with a 5-0 comeback win at the Emirates Stadium.
This was a first-leg battle defined by defensive tightness, closing spaces, lack of rhythm; the whistle never seemed to be far from the mouth of the referee, Serdar Gozubuyuk. Porto defended deep. They made life extremely difficult.
Even more impressive was the sense that both sets of players were very aware of the potential cost of an error. No one wanted to make one. It was cagey from the first whistle for a reason. Arsenal would almost certainly have been held to a scoreless draw beforehand and the feeling would grow harsher as the minutes ticked by.
And yet at the end of stoppage time, Arteta’s team could not spark wild scenes from the Porto bench, substitutes and staff streaming everywhere; the crowd in delirium. Arsenal failed to clear again and again, Gabriel Martinelli going straight to Otavio who headed it back to Galeno, 25 yards out and to the left of centre.
The danger was not precisely communicated. But when Declan Rice fell off, the Porto winger stepped inside and curled a header for a corner far over the top. When David Raya was caught in thin air, Porto had given up.
It was Arteta’s first Champions League final as a manager and it was a stark contrast to how his side managed to get through the group on their return to the competition after a six-season absence. Arsenal had plenty of possession but still mostly sterile possession, lacking zip or incision.
They didn’t have a chance in open play that was worthy of the name, all the threat coming from set pieces that Rís hit in. Gabriel was the closest at the start of stoppage time, going straight off target. There was not enough attack from Arsenal and they paid a heavy price when they failed to manage the last minute.
Porto were 4-5-1 without the ball but Francisco Conceição – son of the manager, Sergio – and Galeno were quick to take the lead. Eduardo Pepê went into the right of midfield. All three were dangerous.
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The idea was to break quickly – the hosts didn’t need to hog the ball – and they gave up during a high-tension first half with just one real chance. It was a chance, the sound man from the stadium was so convinced that Galeno had scored that he pushed the play on the beat of the celebration before finding a fast break.
Galeno had the first shot just after a ball from Conceição in from the right on 22 minutes, watching the effort fly off the far post, but when he got back to it he had to score. He flashed an inch over the other post. Arsenal’s defenders seemed frozen. How did the net not expand?
It was important for Arsenal not to do anything silly early on; the order of the evening was to give nothing to the crowd to follow. Which only made Rice’s yellow card after 67 seconds so worrying. He wasn’t going to get there before Galeno and didn’t, reach in to foul him. Rice came up to the tightrope.
Arsenal were too predictable before the interval, relying entirely on corners. It felt like Rhys was an age before they were delivered. A deliberate tactic to encourage anxiety and chaos inside the six-yard box; physical duels, too? Or just a sign of Arsenal’s lack of purpose? They could not make a full profit, William Saliba led the most obvious opening from the goal after winning a wrestling match.
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Arsenal’s fast first half has been the hallmark of their Champions League campaign; 12 of their 16 goals have come before the interval – no other team in the competition has scored more. This event was different, Porto opponents rather wilier. They may be seven points off the domestic title pace – 10 if Sporting win a game in hand – but they have been regulars in the last 16 of Europe’s elite competition under Conceição.
Arteta stuck with the XI, which drew draws for West Ham and Burnley; Kai Havertz in the left pocket, Leandro Trossard as a false nine. However, it was a night when his team did not make much progress.
