Big life comes to you quickly. When he attacks, he does so with a ferocity that can leave you breathless on your knees.
Arsenal has been longing for nights like this for seven years. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
Luckily for them, they will get a second crack of the whip in a couple of weeks.
For more than 90 minutes they passed this test with great success in the intense cauldron that is the Estadio do Dragao.
Then came the harsh reality of European football as Galen scored a dramatic winning goal that broke Arsenal’s hearts.
Porto striker Galeno scored a great goal in injury time to snatch victory on Wednesday.
The Gunners regretted not taking advantage of set pieces as they appeared content with a goalless draw against the Emirates before conceding Porto’s shock winning goal.
All that said, when these two teams meet again in the second leg next month, Arsenal would still be expected to finish the job.
In fact, he is preparing to spend a night at the Emirates Stadium after this impressive finish.
It’s all part of a learning curve for Mikel Arteta’s team. You can’t win every game.
When you can’t, make sure you don’t lose, especially in the first leg of a European tie.
They couldn’t keep up their end of the deal here last night.
But when they board their flight back to England on Thursday morning, they will do so knowing the game is not over.
This was the kind of night that makes your chest crawl. One of those nights that requires you to be clever, cunning and resilient.
And when the pain of this loss simmers, Arteta should take some heart for the way his young side rose on a nervous night.
But winners win and they will have to prove more than they did here in Porto to ensure that their failure to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals does not extend into the 15th year.
The noise that greeted the Porto winner was deafening.
For Porto, this match not only offered the opportunity to go deeper into the tournament, but also the chance to underline their status as European football royalty. After all, they have won this competition twice.
Their image as losers in this tie bothered the locals. How many times has Arsenal been European champion?
They certainly proved right here Wednesday night.
Arsenal’s start was controlled, although Declan Rice received a yellow card after two minutes. Few opportunities for the Gunners, but a lot of ball.
Porto’s plan was clear: quick counterattacks based on the speed of Francisco Conceicao and Galeno on both flanks.
Their strategy almost worked as they came within inches of taking a lead in the 22nd minute when Galeno hit the post before firing the rebound wide with the goal open.
The home side were convinced they had scored when the ball bounced off the billboard and rattled the net. In fact, the tannoy operator blared the song that salutes all Porto goals here, only to hastily press the stop button when he realized his mistake. But it was Galen’s mistake that really cost Porto.
Mikel Arteta’s team remains the big favorite for the tie ahead of the second leg
Galeno squandered the best chances of the game early on after hitting the crossbar and instantly missed a follow-up attempt on the rebound, stunning the stadium with the unfortunate miss.
It was a relief for Arsenal, who struggled to maintain fluidity during the first 30 minutes. Their first genuine chance came in the 35th minute, Kai Havertz (back at the stadium scoring the tournament-winning goal for Chelsea in 2021) taking a threatening position at the far post only to head meekly wide from a Bukayo Saka corner. .
In fact, it was Porto who made the most promising openings: Nico González shot narrowly wide from distance before Conceicao forced David Raya into a clever save with a shot from a tight angle.
Credit to the Portuguese side. His strategy to stifle and hit Arsenal on the counterattack was effective.
However, towards the end of the first 45 minutes there were signs that Arteta’s team were slowly coming to terms with what was needed.
Like a mathematical equation, the young Arsenal team was trying to figure out how to crack the code.
As brilliant as they may be, you forget that this is a completely new experience for this collective of Arsenal players. They are learning on the job.
Finding the answers will not always come naturally to them.
Gabriel Martinelli, largely anonymous in the first half, was beginning to find more joy down Arsenal’s left, while Martin Odegaard’s influence equalized with each passing minute.
Leandro Trossard wasted a good opportunity in the 56th minute, shooting over the crossbar inside the box after a Rice corner kick.
Porto’s incursions had become increasingly fleeting. Arsenal, suddenly, the team on the rise.
Brazilian centre-back Gabriel headed over the crossbar in one of Arsenal’s many set pieces.
The match was the Gunners’ first Champions League knockout clash in more than seven years.
There was a certain unpleasant cunning to Arsenal’s game that couldn’t help but impress you.
The ability to win free kicks or concede them to prevent counterattacks. They are not traits you would necessarily associate with this Arsenal team in their prime.
But you can’t always have it your way and this was one of those times. The home crowd, which was fervent during the first half, had been suppressed.
That was until the last four minutes of stoppage time when Galeno blew the roof off with his brilliant winner.