- Arsenal must overturn 1-0 defeat from the first leg in Portugal
- Mikel Arteta complained of Porto’s gamesmanship three weeks ago
- It was huge for Arsenal to find a way of beating Brentford – so many things are bouncing their way right now- Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Martin Odegaard has warned Arsenal to expect ‘a lot of time-wasting’ from Porto in their Champions League Round of 16 tie on Tuesday night.
The Premier League leaders must overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg at the Emirates to reach the quarter-finals for the first in 14 years.
Galeno’s injury time winner was the difference in Portugal three weeks ago, when the hosts’ approach came under scrutiny.
There were 36 fouls in the match – a season-high in the Champions League – and the ball was in play for only 51.6 percent of the game.
Porto’s plan to disrupt Arsenal’s rhythm worked a treat as the Gunners failed to register a shot on target in a match in all competitions for the first time since 2022.
Martin Odegaard has urged Arsenal to impose their style when they bid to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against Porto in the Round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night
Arsenal failed to register a shot on goal for the first time in two years in the first leg
The Premier League leaders came unstuck in Portugal and never found their rhythm
Arsenal have won three Premier League games on the bounce since, scoring 12 goals in the process and conceding just twice.
Odegaard wants his team to impose their style from the off on Tuesday night, but warned them to be wary of Porto’s ‘dark arts’.
‘We already showed in that game what we learned in Porto, hopefully, we can do that even better on Tuesday. First of all, we want to play our game,’ he said.
‘We don’t want to focus too much on them and what they are doing. We want to play our game and that’s the main thing.
‘We had to deal with a lot of different situations, a lot of time-wasting. We had to control our emotions the whole game and I think we did that brilliantly.’
Odegaard also believes Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Brentford on Saturday night was the ideal preparation for the Gunners ahead of the second leg against Porto.
The Bees successfully frustrated Mikel Arteta’s men for large parts of the game and created chances of their own, before their resistance was eventually breached by Kai Havertz four minutes from time.
The Gunners were left frustrated in a game that featured a season-high 36 fouls
Mikel Arteta has urged his players to be brave and embrace the opportunity ahead of them
‘There are so many different things going on in each game,’ Odegaard said.
‘This game [against Porto] was one where the ball was out of play a lot and a lot of stop and start and restarts and all this.
‘I think you saw that also against Brentford and I think we dealt with it in a brilliant way. I think that was a good practice.’
The omens heading into the second leg are good for Arsenal. The last time the Gunners reached the quarter-finals in the Champions League was also the last time they qualified after overturning a first-leg deficit.
Incidentally, they did so against Porto, losing 2-1 before trouncing them 5-0 at the Emirates.
And Arteta has urged his players to be brave on Tuesday night and embrace the ‘beautiful opportunity’ ahead of them.
‘(We) prepare the best possible way, make a lot of right decisions and then be brave,’ he said.
‘You cannot wait in these situations – you have to go and make things happen. That’s the approach on Tuesday.
‘We need that noise, we need them (the crowd) playing every ball with us and we need that emotional control as well to understand that the game will go through certain phases. And we have to be really intelligent to get what we want.
‘It’s a beautiful opportunity to live one of those nights. It’s been 14 years, so everything that we put in there is going to be worth it.’
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