Mikel Arteta fails mission to put Arsenal back among European heavyweights in Porto

There was always a danger that Mikel Arteta’s bold words would come back to haunt him.

And sure enough, Arteta was punished in the most brutal fashion by Porto’s devastating 94th-minute winner. But Arsenal also paid a heavy price for their safety-first approach in the Estádio do Dragão as they did not manage a single shot on target.

It highlighted their naivety and lack of experience in the Champions League, a competition they have not been in for seven years. Gunners boss Arteta had promised in the build-up to put them back among the European heavyweights by trying to end their curse of not having even reached the quarter-finals since 2010.

That 14-year gap must have played on Arteta’s mind because, after smashing 21 goals in their last five Premier League games, they put - to use an Arsene Wenger phrase - the handbrake on.

Rather than use the tactics that have served them well, they sat deep, played too cautiously and then committed the cardinal sin in injury time of giving the ball away.

They allowed Porto to come onto them. They allowed Porto’s Brazilian forward Galeno - who had missed a first-half sitter - to hit a stunning 25-yard shot into the bottom corner while Arsenal defenders stood off him.

That now leaves Arsenal in serious danger for the second leg at the Emirates next month and it will also undoubtedly check their momentum in the Premier League title race.

After conceding so late, Arsenal’s players looked shell-shocked at the final whistle and will now have to pick themselves up again to face Newcastle on Saturday night.

The games are coming thick and fast and Arteta will have to pick his players up off the floor because they will be wondering how they lost this against pretty average opposition.

But the reality is