There are plenty of nerves at Arsenal heading into the second leg of their Champions League knockout tie with FC Porto.
Arsenal trail 1-0 from the first leg, with Wanderson Galeno’s stunning late winner piling on the misery on what was a difficult night in Porto, where Mikel Arteta’s side failed to register a shot on target.
Despite Arsenal’s recent incredible form in the Premier League, there is plenty to be wary of as they aim to overturn the deficit. Succeeding in Europe requires a combination of quality, strong mentality and luck, and whilst the Gunners definitely have quality, their lack of experience in Europe could come back to haunt them.
Whilst this is Arteta’s first season in the Champions League as a manager, he was in charge for several Europa League campaigns, but there are some bad omens ahead of tonight’s game.
Mikel Arteta’s poor home European knockout record at Arsenal
In three Europa League knockout campaigns under Arteta, Arsenal have progressed beyond the round of 16 just once.
They suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat at the Emirates to Olympiakos in 2020, having won the first leg 1-0, and were eliminated on away goals as they conceded a winner in the final minutes of extra time.
To add insult to injury, striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a golden chance to send Arsenal through in the dying seconds, and Arsenal were dumped out in the last 32.
They reached the semi-finals in the following season, but it was far from a magical European run. Arsenal progressed past Olympiakos despite the home leg ending in a 1-0 defeat, whilst a 1-1 draw against Slavia Prague in the quarter-finals was redeemed with an excellent away performance.
Arsenal then lost 2-1 to Unai Emery’s Villarreal in the away leg of the semi-final but produced a dismal performance at home as they drew 0-0 and were dumped out.
Last season, Arsenal drew 2-2 away at Sporting Club De Portugal, but a 1-1 draw at the Emirates went to penalties, and they were eliminated in the last-16.
Arteta needs to defeat European hoodoo vs Porto
With Arsenal trailing in the tie, a huge performance is needed as Arsenal need at least two goals to progress to the quarter-finals.
Porto defended superbly in the first leg, and it promises to be a similar game as the one against Brentford on Saturday, with the opposition sitting deep and aiming to waste time.
In terms of quality, Arsenal are one of the best teams in Europe right now, and they will hope for a strong Champions League run to reflect this.
Arsenal went into the tie as favourites against Porto, and it would be a disaster if they were to crash out now, given the strong league form, and the fact that this could lead to first quarter-final appearance since 2010, truly highlighting the job Arteta has done as manager.
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