Arsenal lost their first UEFA Champions League knockout tie in seven years as a 94th minute strike from Galeno condemned the Gunners to a 1st leg defeat, in what was a poor showing from the start.
The Gunners fans understandingly went into the game with major confidence. Five wins on the bounce had seen twenty one goals scored and just two conceded, meaning Arsenal are the current best on-form team in the Premier League and firmly in the race for the title.
Porto however, have endured a somewhat difficult domestic campaign so far and came into their tie against Mikel Arteta’s side in indifferent form with one win from their last three league games. Los Dragoes trail Liga Portugal leaders Benfica by seven points and sit in third place, five points ahead of 4th placed Braga and seven points behind Sporting CP in 2nd.
Due to their recent form, it was no surprise that Mikel Arteta opted to start with the same XI that had started the last two league games. However, the side looked a shadow of themselves right from the first whistle as a lose in concentration from Declan Rice saw him pick up an early yellow card just one minute into the contest.
That sloppy start began to set the tone as Arsenal looked a bag of nerves both defensively and in possession. And they should have gone behind midway through the first half as porto winger Galeno somehow missed two huge chances in the same move. A cross came in low into the Arsenal box and the Brazilian hit the bar with his first effort, but somehow struck wide on the rebound with the goal at his mercy. Even the Estadio Do Dragao PA thought that it went in, with the stadium’s goal music being blasted for a few seconds before the realisation that the winger had not in fact given the home side the lead.
Arsenal however failed to properly test Diogo Costa in the Porto goal in the first half, with the biggest chance coming from a header from William Saliba just before half time as he met a Bukayo Saka corner but headed just wide. The half came to an end with the Gunners having 71% of the ball, but with just 4 shots with 0 on target to worry Costa or the Porto fans.
The second half saw little change, Arsenal remained in control of the ball but prone to a sloppy error every so often, but the hosts were equally as wasteful when they got forward. Both goalkeepers remained fairly unchallenged in the opening stages of the second period, and as the Arsenal fans became more and more frustrated, the Porto fans grew in noise and encouragement at the lack of Gunners chances.
Leandro Trossard did fire just over on a first-time volley when meeting a Rice corner, but that was the closest Arsenal had come the time the clock struck ninety minutes. However, just as it looked as the first leg of the tie was heading to a 0-0 draw, in the 94th minute the home side took the lead as Galeno struck a 25 yard effort into the corner of Raya’s goal after Gabriel Martinelli had cheaply given the ball away. The goal sparked wild scenes at the Dragao as the 1-0 win for Porto was soon confirmed, leaving Arsenal with it all to do three weeks later at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal’s next encounter comes soon after, as Newcastle visit N5 this coming Saturday…