Odegaard: Arsenal better equipped for Porto’s gamesmanship

Martin Odegaard believes Arsenal are better equipped to handle Porto's game as they bid to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years.

The Gunners lost the first leg of their last-16 tie in Portugal three weeks ago 1-0 as Arsenal failed to record a shot on target in a match for the first time in more than two years.

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Mikel Arteta's side struggled to find their rhythm as Porto brought the match to a halt: there were 36 fouls in the match, a record this season in the Champions League, despite the ball not being in only played for 51.7 percent of the game, well short of the score. typical average.

Arsenal overcame similar tactics to beat Brentford on Saturday and Odegaard insisted the “waste of time” in that 2-1 win was ideal preparation for another tricky encounter on Tuesday night.

“There are so many different things happening every game,” Odegaard said. “This game [against Porto] It was a game where the ball was out of play a lot and there was a lot of stopping and starting and restarting and all that.

“I think you saw it against Brentford as well and I think we handled that brilliantly. I think it was good training.

“We already showed in this match what we learned in Porto, I hope we can do it even better tomorrow. First of all, we want to play our game. We don't want to focus too much on them and on what they are doing. We want to play our game and that's the main thing.

“We had to deal with a lot of different situations, we wasted a lot of time. We had to control our emotions throughout the match and I think we did it brilliantly.”

Arteta also urged his players to handle the occasion in what is likely to be a raucous atmosphere given Arsenal last reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2010.

“We need that noise, we need them to play every ball with us and we also need that emotional control to understand that the game will go through certain phases and we have to be really smart to get what we want ” Arteta said. “It’s a great opportunity to experience one of those nights. It’s been 14 years, so whatever we put into it will be worth it.

“The context of the game is very important. We know we have a long game to play. There are moments that could go our way and that can change radically quickly. It's the Champions League and we have to be ready for these kinds of matches.”

Gabriel Martinelli was not pictured training with the group earlier on Monday, but Arteta refused to rule out the Brazilian winger as he attempted to overcome a cut on his right foot.

The match follows a good weekend for Arsenal, who are now top of the Premier League on goal difference after victory over Brentford combined with a 1-1 draw between Liverpool and fellow title contenders Manchester City .

Arsenal will face Pep Guardiola's City at the Etihad Stadium on March 31.