Mikel Arteta eyes “beautiful” Porto win despite Arsenal star’s “horrible” admission

Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to create something beautiful against Porto tomorrow night.

Yet their tense, ugly win on Saturday evening may have been the best preparation possible for a first Champions League knockout triumph in 14 years.

The Portuguese side will arrive in north London with a one-goal lead and a mission to spoil. Brentford provided what centre back William Saliba said was “a different game” to what the Gunners have been used to in the Premier League this year. And the experience should serve them well.

Thomas Frank’s side set up in a compact style that will mirror Porto - and they almost pulled off a shock draw in a fractious, stop-start encounter.

It is all well and good sticking half a dozen past pliable opposition. But the composure and nous required for a late victory against a dogged, street-smart side is another vital component of an elite outfit.

This eighth straight league win not only kept the momentum building but offered up firm evidence that Arsenal have the mental strength required to overcome a Porto team featuring some experts of the dark arts.

“We know we have the capacity to score at any moment,” Saliba said. “But sometimes it’s good to win like this, at the end. We can’t win every game five nil or six nil but it was good mentality from the team. We came with good intentions and scored at the end.

“This wasn’t an easy game but we have to keep going. We knew we could score in the second half, we had the capacity and the quality. We didn’t give up. That’s good for the team.”

The key to stopping Arsenal is by denying them an opportunity to get into a rhythm and Porto will disrupt whenever possible. Brentford often do a fine job of staying just on the right side of the line when it comes to causing a