Theo Walcott feels 2 Arsenal stars were ‘not as effective’ as expected vs Porto

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Mikel Arteta left Theo Walcott questioning if the Arsenal manager ‘trusts’ his bench after keeping Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on during a 1-0 defeat at FC Porto.

The Gunners fell to a defeat at the Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday night as Galeno struck in stoppage time. Arsenal cheaply turned over possession in the final minute of the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. The Brazilian would punish them with a superb strike.

Galeno could have already given Porto an aggregate lead at home to Arsenal in the first half. But the winger hit the post before, somehow, turning the rebound wide as the Dragoes held the north London club at bay. Arteta’s team often lacked their bite in the final third all night.

Arsenal stars Martinelli and Saka had one shot between them at Porto

Arsenal hero Walcott particularly felt like Martinelli and Saka were ‘not as effective’ at Porto as is expected of the wingers. Martinelli failed to record a single shot on goal all night, while Saka only tried one. The Gunners also failed to send a single shot on target, per WhoScored.

Saka saw plenty of the ball in Porto’s half of the pitch and regularly tried to beat Wendell to reach the box. But the Dragoes regularly got enough players back to flood the box and make it difficult to test Diogo Costa. Martinelli also struggled to dominate right-back, Joao Mario.

Walcott questions if Arsenal manager Arteta truly ‘trusts’ his bench

But, despite their lack of bite in the final third, Arsenal effectively played with an eye on the second leg of the Champions League last 16 tie with Porto at Emirates Stadium on March 12. Arteta also only made one substitution all match, with Jorginho replacing Leandro Trossard.

Arteta taking a makeshift centre-forward off for another midfielder, whilst leaving Martinelli and Saka on at Porto, left Walcott questioning if the Arsenal boss ‘trusts’ his bench. Walcott wonders if the Gunners have enough strength in depth given Martinelli and Saka’s struggles.

“We were speaking about the squad depth that Arsenal have before the game,” Walcott told BBC Radio 5 Live. “But now, looking back, does Mikel Arteta trust the players outside of that starting XI? He only made one substitution tonight.

“It could have been a game where he decided to shut up shop even more and brought off the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, who were not as effective as they could be tonight.”