Frustrated Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said his side was “not good enough” after their loss in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Porto defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg of their last-16 clash in the tournament at Estádio do Dragão, thanks to an injury-time winner from Brazilian forward Galeno. The result was more shocking and disappointing for Arteta because the Gunners produced a poor performance, not having a single shot on target throughout the game in Porto.
The home side stepped up more in the contest, and appeared to be more threatening for the majority of the time. Arteta believes that if the Emirates side wants to turn it around next month, they will have to do much better in the return leg.
“Obviously we have to manage much better. We cannot win with the way we handled the ball on three occasions in deep areas it’s not good enough.
“If you want to be in the quarter-finals you have to beat your opponent and this is what we will have to do at the Emirates now. We lacked threat. We lacked aggression, especially with the ball in the final third. We can do better,” Arteta said during a post-match interview.
Mikel Arteta on what he told his players at full-time: “Obviously that we have to manage [the game] much better when you cannot win. The way we handled the ball on three occasions in deep areas, it’s not good enough.”
“We lacked threat, more aggression, especially when we had… pic.twitter.com/0tHOlnoIim
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) February 21, 2024
Porto are due to travel to London for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash in less than three weeks. The match will take place on March 12 at the Emirates Stadium in north London.
Arsenal entered Wednesday’s game in Portugal on the back of big wins in England. The Gunners defeated Liverpool 3-1 at home, before thrashing West Ham and Burnley away, 6-0 and 5-0, respectively.
Meanwhile, Arteta also credited the way the home side played and made it difficult for Arsenal. The Gunners head coach did admit his annoyance with the refereeing, with his players not able to make the best of offensive set pieces as they have done so very well so far in the 2023-24 campaign.
“We couldn’t even touch anybody because everything was a free kick. We will learn from that, prepare better, and go and do it,” added Arteta.
Arsenal have three Premier League games lined up before they host Porto in the Champions League.
Arteta will hope to have his side back to winning ways as they next take on Newcastle United at home in the Premier League on Saturday. Following this, Arsenal will face Sheffield United in the league on March 4. The Gunners then take on Brentford at Emirates Stadium on March 9.
Arsenal are currently placed third in the Premier League table with 55 points after 25 matches, one point behind second-placed Manchester City and five behind leaders Liverpool FC.
