That one is going to be tough to take for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal because they shot themselves in the foot during the dying moments of their game against Porto.
A number of these Arsenal players are playing Champions League knockout football for the first time in their careers and this was a taste of how ruthless it can be.
The Premier League title-chasing team have it all to do now for the return leg at the Emirates, with a number of players putting in poor performances.
One man who left Thierry Henry impressed in Portugal was Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and how he is ’important for this team’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (21/02/24 at 10:15 pm).
The legendary striker highlighted the defensive work of Declan Rice and how well he did his job, even though he picked up a yellow card within a minute of the game.
That would have been frustrating for the £240k-a-week star because it then requires him to be extra cautious in a game that already has big pressure riding on it.
Yes, Arsenal made that mistake in the end and Porto punished them with a stunning curling effort from Galeno in stoppage time.
But Thierry Henry was keen to highlight the work of Declan Rice because this was an impressive performance from him.
Declan Rice shines in Porto
“Him stopping what people don’t notice at times,” said Henry. “I know this one you will, but what I like is he took a yellow after what, two minutes or one minute? And he stayed in the game.
“If you can see him here blocking the shot, (as a ball is pulled back from inside the box). But, at the very beginning, he is looking at what is happening here (Porto runner on the edge of the box), and then he is thinking ‘no, no, no. The danger is here (in front of him)’.
“Double job. He did it so many times in the game, with an early yellow in the game. That’s not an easy one to do when you play in Europe. This is why he is important for this team.”
Pressure on the return leg
The other issue Arsenal faced was how they didn’t really look threatening and failed to even have a shot on target.
If anything summed up European football, then this was it because this Arsenal side had just scored 11 goals in the Premier League, but Porto ensured they played with zero rhythm and it affected them all game.
If Arsenal open the scoring with an early goal in the return leg, then it will make life easier for the players and they should go on to progress.
But if it’s the same frustrations, then expect the pressure to ramp up because Porto will become even more dangerous on the counter, the longer they keep hold of their lead.
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