This won’t be the most positive Arsenal player ratings piece of the season as Mikel Arteta’s in-form side looked a shadow of their usual selves in their 1-0 Champions League defeat away to Porto last night.
The result may not be a disaster in the context of the tie, with the Gunners surely still the favourites to progress when these teams meet again in the second leg at the Emirates Stadium, but it’s clear they’ll have to up their game against a Porto side that have shown they’re no pushovers.
Arsenal almost got away with their limp display as it looked like we were heading for a 0-0 draw before a stunning strike in stoppage time gave the Portuguese giants the victory.
In truth, however, Porto didn’t do that much of note either, and if Arsenal can benefit from the lift their home crowd should give them in the return fixture, then it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them run out comfortable winners overall.
For now, though, the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are two players in particular who will need to improve.
Saka so often provides Arsenal’s spark and went into this game in superb form after helping the north London giants tear apart West Ham and Burnley in recent Premier League games, but he was very quiet against Porto, while Gabriel Martinelli’s decision-making was also a bit off throughout, before he then gave away the ball cheaply for Porto’s winner.
The likes of Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice provide some cause for optimism, however, with our full Arsenal player ratings below…
Arsenal player ratings vs Porto
David Raya – 6 – Not really anything he could do about that Porto stunner to win the game – a generally solid but unspectacular game.
Ben White – 5 – A pretty weak game by his standards, with Porto getting some joy down his side of the pitch.
Jakub Kiwior – 5 – Despite some fine recent performances, Jakub Kiwior was a little below par here and is perhaps showing how much Arsenal miss the injured Oleksandr Zinchenko.
William Saliba – 6 – Not too bad, but could’ve perhaps done better with a chance from a header.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 7 – One of Arsenal’s better defenders, Gabriel Magalhaes just looked that bit sharper than many of his teammates and helped ensure Porto weren’t that much of a threat.
Declan Rice – 6 – An early booking seemed to affect his confidence when it came to tackling and putting himself about, meaning he couldn’t dominate the midfield as he usually would.
Martin Odegaard – 7 – Some lovely passing and touches throughout the game, but Martin Odegaard certainly needed more from the attacking players ahead of him.
Kai Havertz – 7 – A versatile player who so often looks tidy and an important physical presence in the big games like this, even if it wasn’t quite his night overall.
Bukayo Saka – 5 – Just not his night, Bukayo Saka couldn’t get into the game and made some poor decisions on the ball throughout.
Gabriel Martinelli – 5 – Should really have posed more of a threat to 40-year-old Porto centre-back Pepe, but was quiet and gave the ball away cheaply for that late goal.
Leandro Trossard – 6 – Not the threat he often is, but had some decent moments with the limited opportunities he had.
Subs: Jorginho – 6