Porto v Arsenal – Champions League Round of 16

we’re fucking world beaters when it comes to those father/son-like Burnley affairs, but when it really matters we don’t even register a fucking shot on goal…the fact that MA didn’t even attempt to change things up with an offensive-minded sub, speaks volumes about his gutless inklings

Tony-I can’t even imagine your state of mind if you stayed up to watch that borefest, only to then have to witness Porto winning in the dying seconds

Porto head coach Sergio Conceicao hit back at Mikel Arteta’s suggestion that his team had ‘no intention of playing”: ‘They think that the best way to beat their opponents is to have more possession of the ball, but that depends on the team and the performers they have. We had 40%-60% possession of the ball, which is not a scandal. I didn’t mind having 30%-70% and winning too. It all depends on what you do with the ball within the strategy defined to score goals.’

These are the kind of matches where our lack of cutting edge and clinical finishing have come back to haunt us once again, which speaks directly to the problematic manner in which this team has been constructed, considering MA’s preferred tactics…this certainly doesn’t mean we can’t pot a couple or three in the return fixture and ultimately advance, but it definitely makes our task more daunting…what are the chances that MA will want to be more adventurous, as that might leave us more exposed against a team who wants to attack with pace on the counter

the fact remains, when you slow things down in order to play a decidedly more possession-based system, you need to do 3 things well: (1) have the ability to unlock deeper-lying defences, (2) acquire players who can both create their own chances and finish with a limited amount of opportuities, and (3) attack all areas within the final third, not just the wide-sides of the pitch, otherwise opposing defences will not only retain their shape, they will likewise go unpunished when they double-up your best forwards

in regards to the first point, we realistically have 1 player who fits that bill, Ode, and he tends to disappear at times when the stakes are raised…as for point number 2, both Saka and Marts can create their own scoring chances on occasion, but that gets exceedingly more difficult when they’re the primary and secondary focus of the opposition…that said, we don’t employ a single clinical finisher, in fact, our best pure shooter is likely Vieira, which is a sad commentary on our recruitment policies…finally, what kind of nimrod develops a tactical system that relies so heavily on playing into wider spaces yet rarely attacks with pace…talk about making things unnecessarily more difficult on your players…just look at last season, when we added some directness to our attack and Xhaka potted more goals in one season than during the rest of his tenure combined…instead we continued to settle for those without goals in their boots, like Havertz, and returned to our predominantly wide-side pursuits….even Pep realized he needed to adapt tactically once teams became more adept at parking the proverbial bus, which is why he acquired Haaland and constantly commits more men in and around the box

BBC
Wed, February 21, 2024 at 5:35 p.m. EST·1 min read

The key facts and figures after Arsenal’s defeat by Porto in the Champions League.

This is just the second time on record (since 2003-04) that Arsenal have failed to record a shot on target in a Champions League game, previously doing so away to Barcelona in the last 16 in March 2011.

Arsenal are just the fifth side to lose five successive knockout stage games in the Champions League, after Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic and Real Madrid.

Arsenal have failed to score in a Champions League game for the first time since a 2-0 defeat by Barcelona in February 2016, ending a run of 15 consecutive games with a goal (37 in total).

Porto have ended a run of five straight home games in the Champions League without a win against English opposition, since beating Leicester 5-0 in December 2016.

“Porto are not playing fair – don’t they know they should be playing like Burnley and West Ham.”

Good morning and comment of the night, Norg. Absolutely spot on to what I just witnessed.

I said we have the players – well, squad actually, something El B forgets he has.

Has Saliba been found out or just an off game? Forced into too many errors, and was pulled out of position too easily, but was hampered by White playing the invert MF, so always has to cover. It’s his Achilles heel and Porto exploited it.

What can we say about the flying midget in goal? Needs to fly better and faster is my advice, but in reality, Ramsdale saves that by better positioning and quicker feet.

Then, we’re back to the Havertz being Porto’s 2nd best player.

He’s a Prima Pratt. Can’t accelerate quickly enough for over-the-top-balls, and is aerially challenged where Havertz topples at the merest touch in Oscar fashion.

He reminds me of a Meercat. Always with his head up his arse, when needed and fluffs his lines unless against Burnley level teams; but would probably be good at compare.com adverts.

Does he fluff El B as well as his lines? I mean how does he get his game time with the far superior ESR on the bench? KP, Pumpkin could do better.

I struggled to watch the game this morning, and so I felt for my brethren Gooners discontent. TRVL you must have been beside yourself baking furiously to try to unsee the shit display we put on last night.

Safely playing by El B numbers. Then El B makes his usual wrong subs with Jorginho to help shore up and we leak a goal. I mean how very El B with in-game management. Mine was a nice hybrid 50/50 this morning.

Our play it safe game, and don’t get over exposed was too easily stifled by a 21 yo first CL game CD and the 41 yo Pepe who between them, kept our front three not only firing blanks but no shots on target at all. Let that sink in from the team who just netted 11 in 2 games.

When you see Havertz remain on the pitch and Jorginho our only sub for Trossard who is a better impact player, you know bad things can happen.

By contrast Sergio Conceicao made 4 changes from the 80th minute, which improved Porto and led to the goal with his tactical changes El B and his back street boys all missed – par for the course with El generational’s golden balls being more like blackened brass and shrinking no doubt after the loss.

Pedro needs to do some polishing.

White isn’t a 90+ player when playing RB and Inverting.

Realistically, White isn’t our current level. He’s a Hammers and Villa level player at best. Brighton were happy to let him go and never missed him leaving, says all we need to know.

We lost a game we should have won, had we played like we did for the Pool win. Basically, El Bastardo bottled it like our last run in. It was a game had we played front-foot one & two-touch football, as we can, we would have won by at least 2 clear goals.

On that performance I would have to side with Marc and say PL winning sides don’t play CL keep a clean sheet only football, and only huffing and puffing with no real penetration. Very El B like in Europe.

We can beat City and Pool in their own yards now. We have the squad, and occasionally we have the tactics. Last night we had neither because of negative tactics playing against 2 CBs who have no right playing CL football because of age and lack of experience.

Turns out those 2: sensai and grasshopper kept a clean sheet and will feel more positive at the Emirates. Zero shots on goal, how they must have laughed in the dressing room.

We only need a Liverpool performance to put Porto out. I know it, and we all know it. The squad knows it.

Does El Bottler know it? That’s what worries me my friends from afar…………..

Spot on Tony. A very predictable performance. What must ESR be thinking sitting on the bench in frustration knowing that his chances of getting on the pitch are zero.

For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts about last night.

The game is only half played. Arteta and the players were poor. Anything could happen in London. When Arsenal lose like that, apathy sets in. It’s too energy sapping to waste time wondering what might happen because we’ve been here so many times before. We’re shit in Europe and may always be. I’m just going to keep my counsel from now until the return leg. If we’re out after that game, I’ll summon up the enthusiasm to shit the bed!

Right, back to thinking about our teams in the 80s!

KP dont think two hard about the 80’s – there were some poor results then. I can remember the three semi final games against Liverpool only to lose to second division West Ham in the final. My accountant at the time also acted for Trevor Brooking. I would often bump into Brooking, who knowing I was a Gooner would remember the time he tripped and the ball hit his head and into our net. My seats at that final were in line with that action.
A memorable night at Highbury – the 7-0 thrashing of Leeds (in the League Cup). I took a friend who emigrated to New York the following day and his Father who was celebrating his 60th birthday.

Didn’t see the game last night so can’t comment on the performance etc but we’re now in dangerous territory. We need a 2 nil win to go through, they get an away goal and that’s 3 – 1 on the night.

Its why getting that away goal (even if its a draw) is so important once in the knock out stages.

The game I summed up our performance as ‘Insipid’ much like El B. Love your recollections Arsenal and otherwise keep them coming. This really is a blog of love where memories keep us ticking over. It’s why I miss Almunia so much. His lilt on thinks offered a different kind of balance here.

having read yours and KP’s musings on the 80s I think with the lasting memory of that decade being the 89 Liverpool game to win the league, anything 80s has a sprinkling of sooner pixie dust on it, until rightly on further inspections it was a difficult decades made fun by the characters wearing the red & white shirts.

Every team had it’s nutters, Vinny Jones and Fash the Bash with cheeky Dennis Wise at Wimbledon. To Stanley Bowles, Rodney Marsh and Tony Currie. George Best probably the most well known clown who could beat anyone; drunk or sober. Mclintock , Samsoen, champagne Charlie and Liam Brady and mad Jens hs to get a mention here. Tommy Hutchinson and other Chav thugs all Norman Hunter level and above leg breakers.

The list is endless as I’m sure you can all add to as your famous hard men (Chopper Harris) to the sweetly dancing feet of the 80s magicians led by Maradona.

Is todays football better? Only a few of us can really say having lived through it. Most here did.

I’d say it was more honest because so much was allowed that isn’t today. Play acting would get you serious pain that you’d probably have to go off injured. Vinny Jones & Gazza nuts anyone? Gazza took the piss and Vinny grabbed his crown jewels after his feet.

So, for that entertainment level together with the fact our expectations were tempered to a much lower level than we have today. To be fair our expectations are measured by the owners input financially, with out £b+ squad and we rightly, want a title after 2 decades of BS from Wenger and then our 5 year wait with El B.

Our expectations were set when El B told Willian he’d win the CL in 3 years, and today 4 years on, we lose to Porto who we should have at least scored against.

No matter what, as Marc rightly says, the away goal would have been priceless for us. Porto will go for he early demoralizing goal, and then shut up shop with counter football and El B will be clueless, as he was to Sergio’s 4 subs in 10 minutes..

Guys why is Arteta so blind with ESR? We’re lucky because Kiwior is only getting game time because El B’s favourite, Zinchenko is injured again. What are the chances of Kiwior being dropped when the Ukranian LB is fit again.

There was a a moment in the game in the 2nd half where Havertz was steaming through and a Porto player put his hands on Havertz’s waist where instead of Mart’s head down – fuck you – attitude to burst through and get off a shot, Havertz does his best swan lake pirouette, with a hissy fit in mid air, which will make a brilliant meme for every other clubs’ supporters.

It just beggars belief chaps.

El B is supposed to be a top generational manager, I mean Islington Ken (Bob being silly perhaps) told us so, so it must be. Funny he’s not back to offer his best passive aggressive parlance on the superlatives of El B’s work with squad. Perhaps his lost for words and back commiserating with the pedibots.

In the spirit of all things good I will end this ramble, and say with the value of having hindsight, I’d say football today is too vastly different in its rules, fitness and advancements to compare with the early 90s going back decades game.

Both have had great and bad moments. The game was more real back then physically, but today’s technical ability and tactical nous of the top managers; not the pretenders, makes today’s game more beautiful to watch.

Have a good evening where ever you are……….

sorry I was addressing you Norg with my opening comment.

KP, I can see where your coming from, and my recent posts have all been positive that was from our momentum since the Dubai break. I felt if we followed the same tactics we’d get the result I predicted.

We played to not get beat by defending in the final 3rd as we always do with Ode running at full pelt flapping his arms and probably snarling. Does he ever get a tackle in on the deeper of the back four? Hardly ever. In that part of Ode’s play, he’s very Ozilesque.

Like you I was expecting a result and we shit the bed big time. Watching the game they contained us well. They knew where the ball would be heading to Saka or Marts. We don’t do central surging runs and dribbles because we sold Bolagun and have no-one who is capable. Jesus always ends up being dispossessed. Ethan Nwaneri looks to have very silky feet and fitted in perfectly in his last cameo. I would imagine he can play through the middle with good runs with the ball at his feet.

Ethan’s obstacle is the same as ESR, which is El B

If Porto get an early goal at the Emirates, we will be back to at least we can concentrate on the PL old chestnut. The familiar old Arteta story.

All we have is hope my friend. We can’t dare to dream, it only ends in tears and pain.

to no one’s surprise I have a tendency to go a tad overboard at times, which is undoubtedly the result of having to endure these anemic performances time and time again…to be fair to Porto they should have won this match by 2 or 3 goals, as they missed two or three golden opportunities, twice when Raya stupidly vacated his box and another when Galeno shockingly missed wide 2 feet from goal…now if this were against a defensive stalwart, like Juve of a decade prior, it would still be cause for concern, but for it to happen against a bang average Porto side is almost inexcusable…once again it’s important to reiterate that we didn’t register a single shot on target, yet our overtly negative tactician of a manager made but one sub, which saw a deeper-lying midfielder replace our false 9ish Striker, then he proceeded to publicly sewer the players for their lack of offensive output…which begs the question, just how ineffective does Havertz have to be before he gets the Vaudevillian hook like MA’s old buddy Willian???

now, of course, we could still rectify this situation with a decisive victory at home in the return fixture, but that’s certainly not a given in light of our propensity to cock things up when it matters most…for the time being I’ll try to remain cautiously optimistic, as we’re a substantially better team on paper, but I’m still not convinced we have the finishing skills required to win in spite of the manager

TRVL

What far too many Arsenal fans can’t see or get is the insipid performances outnumber the good ones.

Arteta will have a run of shit performances (with results in there) and then really shit results, just as the fans get a bit restless he’ll go on a mini run of good matches and results and the fanboys forget all what’s gone on beforehand.

Tony
I expect typing your posts can easily be achieved whilst watching last nights game. The quality was sadly lacking and typing lengthy posts at the same time should be quite easy.
The 70’s and 80’s were more free and easy. Players and celebrities were more accessible. A nobody like me has met lots of ‘somebodys’ during my years and in some cases more than just a passing word.
If I recall you were involved in the music industry. When I moved to London I lived in Muswell Hill – at the time it was bedsit / shared flat land and up and coming groups made it their HQ. Footballers were just as accessible.I worked in the East End – Lampard Snr could often be found propping up the bar in the Bakers Arms, Hurst & Peters were involved in the Two Puddings and Bobby Moore drank in the Burford Arms.
At AFC Terry Neil took us to 3 cup finals but after that we were very hit & miss under Don Howe. Then along came GG and despite not having the spending power of Liverpool and United he achieved a huge amount. He got caught with a brown envelope in his hand – probably the normal practice at the time. I am sure he could have taken us further but didnt get the chance. As well as trousering a large wedge he probably also caught DHW doing something he shouldnt on the board room table.

should be PHW.

Marc-when one closely examines the similarities between this and the latter days Wenger tenure, those with their blinders firmly affixed might be suitably shocked

common Wenger complaints:

(1) poor recruitment drives where we either settled or largely ignored our most pressing needs (i.e. the DM/Striker position)

(2) lack of tactical flexibility

(3) choosing favourties over the greater good

(4) monopolizing all things football-related, then surrounding himself with “yes” men

(5) never taking responsibility/always blaming others for oft-times self-inflicted failures

(6) cocking up the winter window

(7) having, at best, a pedestrian European record

(8) underachieving in the business end of the season

(9) fragile yet bloated ego

(10) passing the ball into the net tactical approach

sound familiar…btw this isn’t an exhaustive list, so feel free to add any I may have missed…Cheers

TRVL

Wenger got old and old people don’t like change or people challenging them – Arteta’s a whole other story.

Of course the biggest difference is Wenger just didn’t want to spend money (a very long completely different conversation) and Arteta spends (other peoples!) money like a drunk socialist.

Any time I get talk of “look what Arteta’s doing” I always have to smile – he’s got a fucking squad worth a BILLION £ anything he does is the bare minimum unless he starts winning PL’s or CL’s.

Marc-I’m a big proponent of the whole Wenger “didn’t want to spend money” gig, unlike many who claimed it was a Kroenke mandated frugal agenda…that was the Professor wanted to look like an under budget genius and not wanting to have anyone usurping his monopolistic control of the locker room…imagine what might have been if Arteta had simply adopted the most positive managerial traits of both Wenger and Pep

TRVL
11. Just plain stubborn.

Yes men hasn’t reached Wenger levels apart from the goalkeeping coach. Any that any good are seeking opportunities elsewhere.

Hi Marc
… spends money like a drunk socialist (hic!).

You know I can never resist offering some mild rebuttals.

Brilliant dissociation if I may say. Your mate Rishi has brought us the highest rates of income tax in living memory and your home girl Truss and Conservative posterboy Kamikaze Kwarteng fucked our economy quicker than it took for that lettuce to go rotten. Public services in shreds, recession, stagnant output – Britain is about as depressing a place as the inside of Arteta’s addled cabeza. Has your mortgage gone up yet? 😊I paid north of 35 big ones in tax last year thanks to your Tory acolytes.

You’re going to have to vote Labour soon because they’re going to be the only mainstream pro-capitalist party remaining in Ingerland after the Torys are vaporised – but you’ll be fine ideologically at least. Starmer is morphing into a more Thatcherite version of Tony Blair. Let that sink in.

Marc – In case you come to your political senses, I’ll keep a welcome in the hillsides mate 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿!

You going tomorrow?

Kroenke

I hate to break this to you but we have a socialist government already.

It can call itself Conservative or Tory but its policies are left wing. Its why so many Tory voters will either not vote at the next election or vote for alternative parties like Reform.

Lol Marc – Friday joke day is a thing on the plastic Pedro’s site of doom.

Suggesting the Tories are socialist is akin to calling Putin or Netanyahu a pacifist. Racist immigration policies, privatisation, austerity, not giving a fuck about the impact of Covid and being in the thrall of markets are not in the modern Marxist playbook. You’ll have to try a bit harder than that.

You’re joking right? Either that or you’ve drank too many pints of Nigel Farage’s piss. Made my day that has. Laurence Fox level politics.

The quality of todays MP’s is roughly the same as the quality of the current AFC Manager. Both major parties struggle to put forward a decent leader.

The more I read media-types, especially Ornstein, discussing MA’s summertime pursuit of Neto, the more concerned I get about our MIT being in charge of recruitment…it’s not that I don’t rate PN, in fact quite the contrary, but considering the 80+m transfer fee, the massive wage package we will undoubtedly offer, his atrocious injury history and the fact that he primarily plays in the same position as Saka, this seems like a nonsensical “luxury” reach

not only does his present contract not expire until 2027, he will likewise have several suitors of note, so the Wolves will have considerable leverage, even if he tries to force his way out…in order to both encourage him to “help” with the process and lure him away from the competition, we will undoubtedly need to blow him away with our wage offer and other assurnaces…considering what we’re presently paying both Havertz and Jesus, it scares me to think what that number might look like, as his projected ceiling will be substantially higher…as for his injury history, he’s missed 88 games since the spring of 2021, a number that would even make Partey blush…as to the whole positional gig, it would likely mean one of two things, either he’s going to be shoehorned in or one of our present wingers will be sold on…knowing how Arteta has operated thus far, it probably means Marts will be moved and Neto will be playing on his “off” wing, ironically along side another shoehorned player, Timber

of course all of this is speculative, but Ornstein rarely offers up transfer tidbits about our club without it having some merit….not to mention, rumours regarding MA’s admiration MA for this particular player have been making their rounds for the past couple seasons…like I said earlier, I do like what this player brings to the party, but I can’t even fathom how our club, with it’s historical injury-related struggles, could ever pursue a player who’s spent so much time in the treatment room, especially at his age(23)…here’s hoping the adults in the room don’t kowtow to the whims of our manager again, like with Havertz, and we set our sights on our most pressing positional need, a readymade Striker with goals aplenty in his boots

as for our match against Newcastle, which I won’t be able to watch live, as I have a function I must attend, I wouldn’t be surprised if they counter-attacked us with pace, much like Porto, especially if Isak is back in the fold…the very fact that MA will be under some pressure to prove that our anemic mid-week performance was an anomaly, could leave us open to that sort of tactical approach…that said, our stubborn manager could quite easily lean into the same gameplan, as he believed there was goals to be had against Porto that we simply squandered, in the hopes of generating a self-absorbed “told you so” moment…who knows, maybe he’ll go off script and start a few from the splinter crew, so that he will have a built-in excuse if things go awry…Cheers

Norg
It is easier at my age to write directly after watching the game. Although when I watch I generally comment during the game and note the stats during the game.

Our overly emotional attachment to our club especially for me makes it all the more memorable together with the fact that our play is repetitive, as are our mistakes.

I’m just a few years younger at 68, and just getting my 6-pack back, I let slip at 66. After decades in gyms and sports I had accrued a few niggling injuries that needed 48+ months to completely clear up. TRVL will know what I’m saying.

Now I’m back in my gym at my house and enjoying getting fit again. Muscle memory obviously plays a big part. If you put in the decades, keep a good nutrition and maintain max fluid intake, you can keep a good late fitness.

I had a quintuple bypass in my mid 80s, so a big wake up call to my misspent youth, spent as you rightly remember in the music industry with all the cavalier sex drugs and rock and roll of that era. The stories you heard are all lies. The real events were far worse😂

Your comments and east end recollections made me remember times when West Ham players would come to give out our end of season medals. Johnny Sissons I think was one. Our club owner was an ex East End barrow boy, which covered many sins I later found out.

Musicians are really approachable if common sense is used, as it was back in the day with you no doubt. I was fortunate to have worked with some of the best from both sides of the pond with gold and silver discs awarded for my sound engineering craft.

As for tonight’s game where it’s on at 3am my time – for reasons only the football money makers know, we should, with home advantage, collect all 3 points.

The Bar Codes will have other ideas, of course, but I think the Arsenal faithful will be vocal after our Porto non event.

If you and Marc go, I hope it’s a good watch.

We just don’t know, do we? We could as easily score 5 as lose by 2! On paper we should win 3:1 if the Maya midget plays on his latest form.

Ramsdale plays and more likely to keep a clean sheet. Saliba looks like he needs a rest, so playing White in his natural position of RCB makes most sense. Make Cedric earn his corn even if only for 60 minutes.

ESR at 8 and Matinelli at 9 with I’d put Saka LW to link up with ESR and Nelson at RW.

Shake it up and give steady Eddie something to think about, right?

Sadly, this is El B we are talking about, so it will be wash rinse repeat all game with non sensical in-game subs and still get the points.

I’ll watch in the morning and hope to have something good to write about.

Meanwhile Ireland are schooling Wales with some excellent rugby from many of the Irish players. Wales are 2nd best all over the park.

Scotland v the Sassanaks a little later. Should be a very good game in my birth city of Edinburgh.

Have a good one………..🙏

Back to the drawing board for Bothwick’s England after repeated attempts to slow the a swashbuckling rugby the Scottish played at electric pace, you would be more used to seeing in New Zealand.

Great game for the neutrals and Scottish where acquiring shares in whiskey for a short spike would be advised.

Looking at fotmob it shows the only change is Jorginho at 8. Better than Havertz but weaker than ESR.

Wash rinse repeat and 3 points will have to do as Eddie Howe will make sure Newcastle show up unlike the last two.

Apologies for no match day blog.. been busy with the bread and butter job.

Jorginho starts in the midfield and Havertz up top. I would have still stuck with Trossard though.

Does Arteta even know there’s such a thing as roatation?