By Chris Wright.
“Bendtner, still Bendtner, BENDTNER! …Oh dear”
Arsenal went down 2-1 at the Estadio do Dragao last night as two ‘school boy’ goals gave Porto a narrow victory. The Gunner’s didn’t play well enough to justify a win, but they certainly didn’t play badly enough to warrant a loss and a draw would have been a perfectly fair result.
Despite the setback, I still reckon Arsenal have the quality to beat Porto outright in the second leg and advance to the next round.
Here’s how I think they rated on the night…
FC PORTO
Helton Admirably dealt with all Arsenal could throw at him. 7
Pereira Lucky to avoid conceding a penalty when he clumsily bundled Rosicky over in the box, but otherwise, a solid defensive display from the Uruguayan. 6
Bruno Alves Repelled the Arsenal attack all night. Easy to see why some of Europe’s biggest clubs are interested in him. 7
Rolando See above, kept Bendtner quiet all night. 7
Fucile Spent most of the game on the floor or trying to wind up the Arsenal midfield. Gave Clichy problems when attacking down the right. 6.5
Fernando Excellent defensive display from the holding midfielder. Kept Fabregas, Diaby and Denilson in check single-handedly. 7.5 MAN OF THE MATCH
Ruben Micael A wonderful piece of quick thinking to pick out Falcao for Porto’s second goal. 6.5
Raul Meireles Kept the ball moving well. Did little to stand out though. 6
Varela It was his cross that Fabianski bungled into his own net for the first Porto goal. Looked lively all night. 6.5
Falcao Gave Campbell and Vermaelen the run-around all night with his dangerous movement. Reacted well to notch a fortuitous goal. 6.5
Hulk Looked well off the pace but displayed some nice touches in-and-around the box. 5.5
Costa Came on for Meireles on the hour mark. Kept things ticking over. 6
Belluschi Came on late and didn’t have enough time to impress. N/A
Gonzalez Again, came on late and struggled to get involved. N/A
ARSENAL
Fabianski Dropped clangers for both the Porto goals, particularly the first. Looked shaky and inspired little confidence, but pulled off a couple of smart saves. Arsenal need a new keeper. 3.5
Clichy Battled tirelessly up and down the wing but was unspectacular throughout. Constantly under pressure from Fucile and Varela. 6
Vermaelen Another solid performance from the Belgian. Made to work hard by the movement of the Porto strike force but coped well in the main. 6.5
Campbell Perhaps inevitable that he stood out considering the spotlight he was under, but looked a lot fitter than he did in his outing against Stoke a couple of weeks ago and showed no signs of tiring – even managing to get on the score sheet. Strong and committed but perhaps partly culpable for Porto’s second goal. 7.5
Sagna Penned back in his own half for large periods of the game and looked to be getting increasingly frustrated because of it. A few rash tackles ensued but escaped without a booking. 6
Denilson Barely noticed him throughout. Did little of note but was disciplined enough to keep his position in front of the defense. 5
Diaby Very poor. Hardly retained possession and frequently misplaced simple passes. Guilty of letting the opposition glide past him on a number of occasions. A few nice touches save him getting even lower marks. 4
Fabregas Struggled to ignite a misfiring midfield. Was on the receiving end of a few ‘robust’ tackles and did well to keep his temper in check. Used the ball competently but unspectacularly. 6
Rosicky Should have had a penalty after being upended in the second half. His headed assist for Campbell’s goal elevates him slightly above the rest of the Arsenal midfield. 6.5
Nasri Frustrating – worked hard but produced little. Some smart touches cannot disguise the fact that he tired very badly towards the end of the game. 6
Bendtner Not good enough to lead the line on his own. Fluffed the only decent chance he created by rocketing over the bar from the edge of the area. 5
Walcott Had twenty minutes to run at the Porto defense and failed to beat the first man both times he attempted to. Time is running out for Theo to prove his numerous doubters wrong. 4
Vela Wasn’t on the pitch long enough to make an impact but I doubt he would have if he’d have played all game. N/A
Eboue Came on for the last few minutes and created a good opening for Fabregas. N/A
There we go. Agree/Disagree? Let’s hear it…