by Bring your energy, bring your noise – and bring your passion for punishment too, please, David Raya. It was heroics from the Arsenal goalkeeper, rather than the instinctiveness and electricity of their attacking play, that saved Mikel Arteta’s side here. Porto managed to block it and they succeeded: a big, final move from Pepe dragged Porto into extra-time and to spare time. But Arsenal survived. On balance, they are probably the team with a chance to win the Champions League, but Arsenal need to be much better, and more importantly, if they are to be a contender.
Arsenal will worry about that later. So far, the first quarter-final in 14 years is to be celebrated. But it shouldn’t detract from that point. “We are learning every day,” Arteta said afterwards. This is still his first Champions League campaign, after all, as it is for many of his squad. Arsenal were cautioned in the first leg but fell into the same trap. “We have to have a bit of satisfaction,” admitted Declan Rice, after Arsenal were beaten 1-0 in Porto. “You have to be ready for these kinds of games,” Arteta announced before returning. However Arsenal were neither smart nor ready. They won the shoot-out, but for the promises and the words, Porto won the battle of the dark arts again.
Arsenal would do well to learn their lesson the second time around. For all that Arteta’s team has swatted aside to be ahead in the title race, Porto’s commitment to the basic principles of s ***housery went more and beyond the levels usually allowed in the Premier League. It was allowed to develop due to a rather good performance from referee Clement Turpin, who showed more yellow cards to the two managers and their coaching staff than he gave to the players on the pitch (3-3, aet).
Although the Emirates also saw a master class, collectively irritated by Pepe – who, at the age of 41, is just as good as Pepe at this point. Arsenal had a pretty good start, the Emirates was alive with Arteta’s rallying cry ringing around the stands, thundering onto the pitch. Arsenal scored a brilliant equalizer which came after a clever and subtle change in their opening play, with Ben White first entering the pitch and Martin Odegaard advancing further. Odegaard spent most of the night directing Arsenal, level above him, and set up Leandro Trossard’s equaliser. But Arsenal were unable to gather momentum.
Porto did not allow it. “And credit to them,” Arteta pointed out. “They were very tough, very organized.” Just as they did in the first leg, Porto ran down the clock and wasted far more minutes than they added at the end of either half; one standard minute at 45′ and a paltry three at 90′. Both were wrong, although Porto’s methods of finding stops were at least creative. An overhead kick from Evanilson halted Arsenal’s attack after he landed on his back and stayed down. Wendell, who did an excellent job tracking down Bukayo Saka, collapsed after being hit in the face. He was at the ball.
Pepe was, of course, painless in his craft, at the heart of his craft: serenely timeless and unassuming, still always in the limelight, even though it is now seven years since he played an almost villainous role for Real Madrid and the Portugal. He still manages to pull off that act, even as the grizzled ex-husband. Between the constant martialing of the Porto back four, and the often heroic actions of defense at his back position, there was the other side, subtle or otherwise: the knee into the goal of Kai Havertz, who managed to get out with the slightest nudge on . Turning into the box, Odegaard tackled Havertz before Odegaard finished into the empty net, denying Arsenal another goal midway through the second half.
Sergio Conceicao stood and jumped on the sidelines – the Porto manager would be booked along with Arteta, and further words would be exchanged after the final whistle – but he had drilled his team to be organized and compact. They spent close to 10 minutes defending various set positions during the warm-ups, and then spent the game canceling what became the clear strength of Arteta’s side during their winning run. Because of all their movement in the box, crowds of the far post, the line of Arsenal attackers falling into an upside down position, Porto did not hold. Arsenal were barely allowed to make the first touch, from the inswinging deliveries of Saka, Rice or Odegaard.
Porto were smart: Arsenal are now the team that can win a game in 20 minutes through their goals. Porto faced them for over 220 and conceded only once. But Arsenal progressed, and in the quarter-finals they are likely to face a different quality of opposition – unlikely to meet a low block as deep and determined again as the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But Arsenal are learning. “We haven’t done this before,” Arteta said. There was innocence, at least, even if it almost cost them.
