Arsenal have all the work to do back in North London next month after a disappointing Champions League Round of 16 first-leg defeat to Porto on Wednesday night.
The Gunners, who had not played in the knockout stages of the prestigious European competition since 2017, were fortunate not to be behind in the first half when Galeno thundered a strike off the post and then put his rebound wide from close range.
However, he would eventually make Arsenal pay in the dying embers in Portugal as his well-taken strike gave Porto a slender advantage heading into the return leg in England. On a sobering night for the Gunners, here is how the national media reacted to the result — with many pointing to the inexperience within Mikel Arteta's squad as a key reason for the defeat.
Chief football writer Henry Winter titled Arsenal as 'naive' in his summary of the game and wrote: «Pepe has all the tactical smarts and all the muscle memory to frustrate opponents. The centre-back knows when to intercept and when to fall over.
»Against Arsenal last night, Pepe delivered a masterclass in the art of elite defending. At 40.
«The majority of Arsenal players are ingénues by comparison. Only Kai Havertz of Mikel Arteta’s starting XI has experience of the knockout stage.
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»Arsenal are attractive to watch, positively set up by Arteta, but they are still learning in Europe. They are learning the vital importance of total concentration, such as in the fourth minute of stoppage time. They were level, and taking a 0-0 back to the Emirates for the March 12 second leg would have made this a successful trip. But they switched off."
Analysing the result, The Athletic's Art de
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