Ahead of Arsenal’s monumental Champions League round of 16 tie against Porto, Mikel Arteta stressed how he wants Arsenal fans to bring their ‘energy and noise’ tomorrow night as Arsenal look to overturn the deficit and progress into the final eight.
The Gunners will be attempting to qualify for their first Champions League quarter-final since the 2009/10 season. To do so, Arsenal will have to overturn a one-goal deficit they suffered at the Estadio Do Dragao when in-form Porto winger Galeno scored from range in the 94th minute advantage to hand the Portuguese side the advantage.
Arsenal come off the back of three successive wins over Newcastle, Sheffield United and Brentford which have seen them take pole position in the Premier League title race, with just ten games remaining, by overtaking both Liverpool and Manchester City.
Similarly, Porto have enjoyed their own run of remarkable form, winning three of their last four including a 5-0 home victory over reigning champions, Benfica. Sergio Conceicao’s side, who won the Champions League exactly 20 years ago under Jose Mourinho and who are Portugal’s most decorated team, will encounter a stern test in North London against Arteta’s side.
The last time Arsenal progressed to a quarter final it was Porto who they beat to get there, with Arsenal, on that day back in 2010, scoring a hatful of goals at the Emirates to beat Porto 5-0, and progress to play Barcelona who they would go on to lose to.
When previewing the game, Arteta discussed the way he would like to see his side set up, how they have to show more courage and bravery than they did in Portugal and the importance of the atmosphere at the Emirates pushing the Gunners over the line.
Team News
Regarding Arsenal’s availability, Arteta remained coy on whether Gabriel Martinelli or Tomiyasu would be able to feature. The Brazilian winger was not seen in Arsenal’s open training session after initially suffering a cut against Sheffield United before being seen in a protective boot at the Emirates during the game against Brentford at the weekend.
The Arsenal manger said: “Not many updates [on team news]. We still have 24 hours and we are trying to have everybody fit and available.”
When asked on Tomiyasu featuring in training, Arteta said: “Yeah he [Tomiyasu] did the first part. Gabi [Martinelli] didn’t.”
On importance of the atmosphere at Emirates
With the Gunners struggling away from home at the Estadio Do Dragao, the home advantage tomorrow will be crucial in seeing the Gunners through to the quarter finals. The Emirates can often be the 12th man for Arsenal, and in European ties, the atmospheres in England can often intimidate opposition teams.
When asked on how important the fans are, Arteta described the impact that they can have as ‘incredible’, he said: “I think the impact that they can make tomorrow is incredible.I don’t think that they realise that. So we need them. We need that noise. We need them playing every single ball with us.
“We need [as players] that emotional control as well, you know, to understand that the game can go through certain phases and we have to be really intelligent to push in the right moments to get what we want. But it’s a beautiful opportunity to have these nights. It’s been 14 years, so everything that we put in there is going to be worth it.”
Arteta added: “It’s a joy to be part of this club, to be part of these kind of games. And tomorrow is going to be a great night.”
On Porto
Away from home, Arsenal struggled to display the same dominance and clinical edge that has taken them so far. Despite going on a winning run of eight games and scoring 33 goals across that period, the Gunners failed to have a single shot on target in Porto, a stat that was representative of a poor display from Arsenal.
During the encounter, Porto successfully used tactics to both keep Arsenal out from dangerous areas in their half and waste time.
When quizzed on Porto’s low block, Arteta described how his side have become much better at overcoming teams that like to seat deep, referencing the weekend game against Brentford in which Arsenal scored a late goal through Kai Havertz to break down the Brentford side.
The Arsenal boss said: “Every week, every opponent has his strengths, his weaknesses. And in the way that they play, every way that they approached the game. And we know better, we play these kind of games, many, many times in the Premier League. We played one three days ago. So we just focus on being ourselves and do more of the things that we can control better than we did a few weeks ago.
We have to make it happen tomorrow. And we’re going to have to be very good to achieve that.”
On the way Arsenal will look to set up
With Porto representing the first home round of 16 tie since the Arsene Wenger era that Arsenal have played in, Arteta was asked on how important it will be to draw on the experience of experienced players such as Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who both featured on Manchester City’s often extensive Champions League runs.
He said: “Well, unfortunately we haven’t had them for long periods this season. The same with Thomas [Partey]. But it’s what we have. We have others as well. We learn with the experiences of playing those games. And the boys will be ready tomorrow”.
Instead, Arteta was keen to focus on how his side should set up to play attacking football, and demonstrate their courage and bravery to play.
The Gunners boss said: “I hope we’re better. I hope we have more courage and we do certain things in certain phases of the game better than we did in Portogual
“We have to make a lot of right decisions and then be brave and have the courage to make things happen. You cannot wait in this situation. You have to go and make things happen and that’s the approach tomorrow”.