I saw Arsenal star fail to meet Champions League standards as he lost 13 duels v Porto

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Gabriel Martinelli was far from his best as Arsenal lost 1-0 against Porto on Wednesday evening. 

Gabriel Martinelli fell short of the standards expected in the Champions League as Arsenal suffered a first-leg defeat in Portugal.

The Gunners will still fancy their chances of being able to turn this tie around when they welcome Porto to the Emirates Stadium for the second-leg of this Champions League round of 16 match-up on March 12th.

However, on that day, Mikel Arteta’s side will have be far better than they were in the first-leg if they are to stand any chance of progressing to the quarter-final stage of Europe’s elite club competition this season. 

The north London outfit were poor at both ends of the pitch against Porto last night. Considering how good Arsenal have been going forward in recent weeks, it was a shock to see them looking so toothless in this match.

In their last two Premier League outings, Arsenal have won 6-0 and 5-0 away from home, against West Ham United and Burnley, respectively. Yet they were not even able to register a shot on target against Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.

Gabriel Martinelli flounders as Arsenal lose to Porto

Martinelli, in particular, turned in a disappointing performance. The Brazilian attacker came into this game in good form. Martinelli even recently said himself that he feels like he is now back to his best after enduring a difficult start to the current campaign. 

However, the 22-year-old was extremely poor against Porto. When the Champions League occasion demanded his best, he fell short. The 9-cap Brazil international is competing in this competition for the first time in his career this season, and will be disappointed that he was unable to impress when given his first chance to shine in a knockout round.

The data demonstrates just how out-of-sorts Martinelli was in this match. As per Sofascore statistics, the winger competed for 19 duels in total, both on the ground and aerially, and lost 13 of them. He could also only. successfully complete 3 out of the 8 dribbles he attempted. He lost possession 27 times, committed 3 fouls, and was only accurate with 69% of his passes.

Of course, Martinelli is capable of far, far better than this. He is a hugely talented player with vast potential. Martinelli has pace to burn, possesses great work-rate and energy levels, and can be a clinical finisher. 

This effort, though, was simply not good enough, and it is a surprise that he lasted the full game on the pitch. In fact, it would have probably been better for Arsenal if he hadn’t, as he was the one who gave the ball away in the passage of play that led to Porto’s late winner.