Damning stats highlight two difficulties Arsenal must now learn from after Porto win

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Arsenal made history as they reached their first Champions League quarter-finals in 14 years, but they had a tough time against FC Porto.

The Portuguese side took Arsenal to penalties, but two saves from David Raya saw the Gunners emerge victorious from what was an exhausting two-legged tie.

The first leg in Porto saw Arsenal lose 1-0 in injury time, whilst also failing to register a single shot on target.

They did manage to reverse this deficit through Leandro Trossard in the first half of the second leg, but Porto’s stubborn defence, and perhaps Arsenal’s relative inexperience, meant that the rest of the game, and extra time in particular, was a struggle.

However, with Arsenal now set to face a strong side in the quarter-finals, they will hope to have learned lessons from the Porto clashes, which were fiery affairs both on and off the pitch.

Arsenal have lessons to learn from Champions League victory over Porto

X account Orbinho has now highlighted that, with the visitors seeking to waste time and disrupt Arsenal’s momentum, that the ball was only in play for 66 of the 133 minutes of the second leg.

This comes after the ball was in play for just 50 minutes of the first leg, and surprisingly, the referee team awarded just one minute of added time in the first half.

In addition to this, Porto handled Arsenal well when they eventually reached extra time, limiting Arsenal to just one shot across the 30 minutes added on.

The side who are third in the Portuguese top flight had successfully stifled the most in-form team in the Premier League, and were penalties away from a major European upset.

What can Arsenal learn from Porto victory?

It became painfully obvious over the two games that Arsenal were lacking in European experience and knowhow, with Jorginho only starting the second leg, and former Manchester City pair Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus only coming on in the latter stages of the second leg.

Arsenal’s other players, although of top quality, are yet to experience high-pressure European knockout football for the most part, and this may have meant they were unprepared for the ‘dark arts’ that Porto employed in the tie.

With Atletico Madrid a potential quarter-final opponent, it is hoped that Arteta will have taken his lessons on how to defeat a well-organised mid-block defence, and help his side conquer their frustrations when it comes to opponents time-wasting. Otherwise, they may not find the same winning spirit in future European ties.