Arsenal, considered favorites in their Champions League Round of 16 clash with Porto due to their impressive Premier League form, faced a challenging match.
Both teams displayed mediocre strength, but Arsenal struggled to generate significant attacks, with a mere 35% possession.
The home team, despite having less control, had better chances, particularly a missed opportunity by Wenderson Galeno in the first half, later compensated by his 94th-minute wonder shot.
While this setback isn’t fatal for Arsenal’s European aspirations, it complicates their path.
In a lackluster team performance, two players stood out for their ineffectiveness.
Bukayo Saka, a usually outstanding 22-year-old, had a subpar performance, earning a 5/10 rating from Simon Collings of The Standard.
Described as “not really in the game very much” and criticized for lacking a final product, Saka’s statistics aligned with the harsh assessment, raising questions about his ‘world-class’ credentials.
On the other side, Gabriel Martinelli struggled to make an impact from the left, contrasting with his recent performance against Burnley.
Despite receiving the same 5/10 rating as Saka, Collings expressed deeper concerns about Martinelli, describing him as ‘silent for much of the game’ and highlighting more troubling figures from the night.
