Thierry Henry believes that after Arsenal’s Champions League first-leg loss to Porto on Wednesday night, they were given a wake-up call.
As stoppage time approached, it appeared as though Arsenal would return to London with a goalless draw and control of the outcome for the second leg.
That’s when Galeno raced forward with the ball and curled his attempt into the net after Gabriel Martinelli had attempted a cross-field pass to Bukayo Saka and it had been intercepted.
In addition to being dissatisfied with Gabriel Martinelli’s pass, Thierry Henry also expressed his opinion that custodian David Raya “jumped early” in an interview with CBS Sports on Paramount+ on Tuesday, February 24, at 9:55 p.m.
Galeno’s effort didn’t find the back of the net with much force or speed; rather, it gave Arsenal’s custodian plenty time to respond.
However, it didn’t assist his case that he appeared to have jumped prematurely and that he was also further out of line than he ought to have been.
Ultimately, Mikel Arteta and his team suffered a heartbreaking first-leg loss, and Thierry Henry was not taken aback as he anticipated this.
Should David Raya have saved Porto’s goal?
“This is where, when you’re in Europe and away from home, you need to be a little more clear about what you do,” Henry remarked, “you lose that ball, one minute to go.” “That’s a cheap counterattack ball that was lost.”
Although I’m not a goalie, he is lacking the one step necessary to manage his feet. He made an early jump. Our skill was limited to set pieces. Playing Burnley, West Ham, and then away in the Champions League are three different things entirely. You need to create more opportunities if you wish to participate in the Champions League. We didn’t produce enough, and those people ended up being superior to us that day. Although we still have a leg to go, I warned you last week that the trip to Porto would be challenging, and it was!
“This could have been a 3 v 2 if Martinelli’s pass had gone through.” The next thing you know, you’re backpedalling after missing a pass. You are in trouble if you backpedal against someone who can curve. They are in trouble if it’s a better pass.
The journey back to the Emirates
Even if Porto scores at the Emirates, Arsenal should be thankful that there are no longer any away goals because they are still in this game.
In an ideal world, that wouldn’t occur since the supporters would just turn on the players, but Arsenal excels in situations like these.
The team’s problem against Porto was their lack of threat in open play; they were unable to get going and appeared to be mired in muck the entire game.
If his team can regain that attacking bite, they should still be able to defeat Porto, as Arteta will make sure his teammates understand this.
