Danny Murphy criticises Arsenal over their performance against Porto in the Champions League.
What happened in the round of 16?
Arsenal had to get the job done in a penalty shootout to secure their place in the Champions League quarter-final. They found themselves 1-0 down against Porto going into the second leg but they equalised before half-time through Leandro Trossard.
The game ended up going to penalties in which David Raya was the hero of the night. He saved two penalties to ensure Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in 14 years.
What did Murphy say?
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy spoke out against Arsenal’s performance, claiming that they aren’t Champions League savvy.
He said: “I do think the game showed imbalance. Of course, if Arsenal went out it is a catastrophe, now Arsenal are through Arteta is the new messiah.
“But the reality is somewhere in between. They are moving forward, they are a hell of a side.
“But I think last night, at times, showed that they are not Champions League savvy, they could have got done on a few counters.
“A few of their players looked more nervy last night than any of the Premier League games.”
Could Arsenal win the Champions League?
There have been plenty of Champions League winners that started off slowly.
Real Madrid in 2022 was a prime example of this; scraping past opponents in the knockout stages with Karim Benzema-inspired comebacks, before facing strong favourites Liverpool in the final. As history would show, Carlo Ancelotti’s men proved Madrid’s doubters wrong once again.
Murphy was asked if Arsenal win the Champions League would everyone forget about their previous performances. He responded: “It is a fine line between success and failure, isn’t it?
“Because the reality is if Arsenal were to go on and win the Champions League, which they still have a hell of a lot to do, no one would remember they didn’t play particularly well [against Porto] and needed penalties.
“I was at Liverpool, the first trophy we got over the line we were awful, we won on penalties against a Championship side but no one really remembers it now.”
Who do Arsenal face in the quarter-final?
Arsenal will find out they’ll be facing in the quarter-final draw on Friday, which gets underway at 11am GMT.
The Gunners will be hoping to avoid favourites like Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, although the final eight this year appears particularly strong.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
