What Arteta told Arsenal players in dressing room at full-time after Porto defeat

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Mikel Arteta has now revealed what he said to his Arsenal players after they were beaten 1-0 by Porto on Wednesday evening. 

Mikel Arteta was far from pleased with what he saw from his Arsenal side in this Champions League clash.

The Gunners were poor all over the pitch in the Estadio do Dragao, but did at least look set to return to the Emirates Stadium with a goalless draw in tow. However, in the 94th minute, Galeno was able to find the back of the net from range to secure a famous victory for the hosts. 

Arsenal fans pinned the blame on David Raya for the goal. In truth, though, numerous players were at fault. Gabriel Martinelli gave the ball away in the build up to Galeno’s strike, to cap off a pretty torrid all-round display from the 22-year-old. Equally, none of the Arsenal defenders got out to the Porto forward quick enough in an attempt to block his shot. 

The north London club now have a mountain to climb in the second-leg of this Champions League round of 16 tie at the Emirates Stadium. They will still back themselves to have enough to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, but this was a harsh lessons in the realities of playing away from home in Europe’s elite club competition.

Mikel Arteta admits fury with Arsenal players after Porto loss

Very few of the current Arsenal squad have past experience of this stage of the Champions League, and it showed in Portugal. They will need to learn fast if they are to live up to their potential at this level. After all, Arsenal have been told that they have what it takes to go all the way in the Champions League this season. 

After the match, Arteta was asked what he had said to his players after the final whistle. Speaking on TNT Sports, the manager said, “obviously, that we have to manage much better, when you cannot win. The way we handled the ball on three occasions in deep areas, it’s not good enough, and now this is half-time. If you want to be in the quarter-finals, you have to beat your opponents. This is what we have to do at the Emirates now.”

Arsenal will have their chance to exact revenge on Porto when they welcome them to the Emirates Stadium on March 12th. They will need to produce a far, far better performance on that day if they are to undo the damage that was done in Portugal. As Arteta said, it is only now half-time in the overall tie, so all is not yet lost, but the manner of this late defeat will have come as a bitter blow all the same.