Despite a dominant group stage showing in their first season back in the UEFA Champions League Arsenal came unstuck last week in the first leg of their Last-16 tie against FC Porto, conceding a late winner after a disappointing performance.
The Gunners have been in excellent domestic form recently but failed to transfer that to European competition last week – they will need a big performance if they are to progress to the quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years.
We spoke to Bet9ja Ambassador Victor Ikpeba for his take on the matchup as it stands.
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This was a timely reminder for Arsenal about the quality around Europe.
You can’t blame Arsenal fans for putting themselves in the running for the Champions League this year – they clearly have a strong team and play excellent football, but there are no easy matches once you get to the knockout stage in the UEFA Champions League.
Porto have European heritage having won the tournament in 2004 and can attack and defend to a very high level. They kept their focus for the whole match, with Arsenal dropping their concentration for 30 seconds at the end of it. This is what cost The Gunners.
This is still a very winnable fixture Arsenal!
Mikel Arteta will be very disappointed with the result last week, but all hope is not lost. One goal in Europe doesn’t mean as much now that the away goal rule isn’t a thing – a fast start at The Emirates Stadium will get the crowd on Arsenal’s side and put them in a good position to progress. They beat Porto 5-0 in 2010 after losing the first leg 1-0, so can definitely repeat the trick.
Jorginho has been playing very well recently – his spatial awareness and ability to control the game is an important weapon for Arsenal, especially when you can pair him with Declan Rice who is excellent out of possession.
Arteta has to be careful with how he manages players like Jorginho’s minutes – he is an extremely valuable player for the North London side but is on the older side. Arteta can’t afford to play him every week because then they won’t get the best out of him.
