Mikel Arteta got one key Arsenal selection decision wrong, despite beating Porto

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Arsenal progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals last night after beating Porto on penalties in a tense game at the Emirates Stadium.

Leandro Trossard’s first-half goal eliminated the deficit from Arsenal’s defeat in the first leg, but it was a night of struggle as Porto made it incredibly difficult for Mikel Arteta’s side to create chances.

Arsenal have been scoring freely in the Premier League in recent months, but Porto provided a different test entirely, and it was a fierce battle both on and off the pitch, as Sergio Conceicao came to blows with Arteta.

Arteta’s side were far from their best going forward, and whilst a lot of this can be attributed to Porto’s excellent defensive organisation, as well as their time-wasting antics and constant drawing of fouls to disrupt momentum, there was one decision the Spaniard got wrong.

Gabriel Jesus should have started ahead of Leandro Trossard against Porto

Before the game, we argued that in the absence of Gabriel Martinelli, his compatriot Gabriel Jesus should have come in to start on the left wing.

Trossard was disappointing against Brentford on Saturday, and despite putting in some excellent performances in recent weeks, when he has started on the wing, he usually fails to replace Martinelli’s speed.

Although he took his goal superbly, slotting into the bottom corner from Martin Odegaard’s through-ball, Trossard could not impose himself on or off the ball for most of the game.

The Belgian lost six of his nine duels, and completed just 11 passes in 105 minutes. He was dribbled past twice, and Arsenal struggled to hold the ball higher up the pitch as he, alongside Bukayo Saka, was outmatched physically by the Porto defence.

Gabriel Jesus delivered when he came on for Arsenal in Porto win

Arteta waited until the 83rd minute to bring his Champions League-proven striker on, as he replaced Jorginho and moved upfront.

Jesus helped Arsenal improve going forward, causing more problems than Trossard with his movement, and he held the ball up well, allowing Arsenal to push higher up against Porto’s well-organised mid-block defence.

In just 37 minutes, Jesus completed the same number of passes as Trossard managed in over three times that, and his tricky movement was more difficult to Porto to deal with than Trossard’s.

Trossard’s best position is perhaps as a false nine rather than a winger, and it will now be interesting to see if he keeps his place in the team when Martinelli returns.