Jamie Carragher was critical of William Saliba for the manner of his defending during Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Arsenal went into that game flying high, scoring goals for fun and favourites to secure a positive result in Portugal.

But Mikel Arteta watched his team put in an abject display in the first leg and they are probably lucky they are only 1-0 down.

Galeno was the one who added spice to this Champions League tie, but he should have scored much earlier in the game, only for his finishing to let him down.

The Brazilian star had two chances to score from close range, but never mind scoring, he couldn't even hit the target, to Arsenal's relief at the time.

Jamie Carragher slammed William Saliba for his 'poor defending' and how he 'switches off' when inside the penalty area, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (21/02/24 at 10:15 pm).

In the end, it wasn't just a night to forget for the Frenchman, but the rest of his teammates too.

William Saliba's defending "I can't believe he doesn't put Porto into the lead from this one," said Carragher. "I mean Saliba, the analysis Thierry did before the game was spot on and proven to be the case here.

"He just switches off. He thinks he has nobody in the box, Saliba. It's a great first strike, but he has got to score.

"But the ball comes back at him so quickly, it must have been really difficult for him to react. When you see Saliba, really poor defending."

Yes, Arsenal have some very good players, but let's be honest, they are inexperienced in Europe's elite competition, especially for the knockout games.

Even if they progress here, it wouldn't be a surprise if they don't go far because many other machines are far better than them.

But, before anything can happen, they have to see off Porto in the return leg because their defensive display, led by veteran Pepe, was outstanding.