Prediction
Porto 0-2 Arsenal
They also lost 1-5 at home to Liverpool. Pedigree is bunk. When you play Sunderland now you're playing a championship team, not a team that won several league titles. This Porto team has got nothing on the team that won European Cups, they are also-rans good enough to get into the CL (not difficult in Portugal) and make it to the ko stage where they are ko'd regularly at the first hurdle.
Sorry, this is not a big team. We didn't register a single shot on target for the first team in two years. That's not because they were so good, it's because we were so bad. We've played many better teams that Porto on the last two years.
I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory especially when English clubs are involved, too many instances where you can see continental clubs doing well with comparatively little while English clubs blow a small country's GDP on a bunch of cloggers who can't trap a ball.
How is it possible for something to always be better than you expect?Always much better defensively than you'd expect.
In theory you are correct.All that stuff happened decades ago and have nothing to do with the current Porto and Arsenal teams.
Arsenal has built one of the most expensive squads in Europe, Porto sells their best players every year and their current best player is a GK. It should be a comfortable win over 2 legs, hope the boys pull their **** together at the carpet.
Yeah. People always forget how different it is playing in Europe. Better opposition managers, teams who rest players in previous league games, all the dirty tricks we don't see here, refs who (for better or worse) take a totally different approach to English refs, travel etcReally hard to see how we go deep in this competition even if we win the return leg.
Think we need some next level jam with the draws.
Meh, Arsène only really underachieved in Europe early on when we were amazing domestically. Which sort of just reiterates that Champion's League football is hard and you need some luck - the best ever Arsenal team, under its best manager since the 1930s got killed by Wayne Bridge...Spent the whole day yesterday getting battered by Arteta sexuals telling me how sh!t Arsène was in Europe. Then after the game how we shouldn't underestimate just how good Porto are.
We should be…I honestly thought we were the 3rd best team in the CL this season until yesterday
The second tie at the Emirates will undoubtedly be one of the most frustrating matches. Their gamesmanship, diving, playacting, delaying, feigning injuries and whatnot will be at extremes.
We need to score an early goal and even that won't stop them for playing only for penalties.
It also shows quite clearly where future recruitment is still needed. Whether up front or out wide we desperately need another player of the requisite quality who can stretch the opposition. At present if Martinelli has an off day, we really lack in that department. Saka can do it a bit, but is best in a different role. Jesus and Zinny were big misses, as both are much better fits for this kind of game.CL knockout is a different breed. You need to grab your chances on the counter and be ruthless, as often it's fine margins and experience that makes a difference.
The xG/total control crap does not "even out" over a season, one more game like last night and we're bust.
Arteta is too Pep-like to see this. That's why Pep only one this comp with two of the best squads ever assembled while Klopp e.g. went to multiple European finals with underdog teams.
Theory?? Ffs.I was praising you, you gimp. And now you've gone and dumped a Drippin clone load of bs on me. You deserve an Abou 'War and Peace' novel in reply to that sh!t but I can't be arsed.I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory especially when English clubs are involved, too many instances where you can see continental clubs doing well with comparatively little while English clubs blow a small country's GDP on a bunch of cloggers who can't trap a ball.
Normally I'd say that's not us but yesterday we were beyond awful. You could actually say Porto proved the opposite of squad cost as they deserved the win.
It’s always like this in the R16, three week gap between games. In Europa it’s only a week apart because there’s an extra knockout round.Why the **** is the return leg in March?