Ally McCoist stunned by ‘incredible’ statistic concerning Arsenal before Porto tie

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Ally McCoist has shared the statistic concerning Arsenal and the knockout stages of the Champions League which left him in disbelief ahead of the second-leg of their tie with Porto on Tuesday night.

The Gunners went into their clash with the Portuguese side at the Emirates needing to overturn a one-goal deficit after a really disappointing performance in the first-leg last month.

Of course, the knockout stages of the Champions League represent uncharted territory for Mikel Arteta as a manager. And he was having to deal with the fact that the Gunners have a really poor record in the last decade or so at this stage.

Ally McCoist amazed by Arsenal statistic ahead of Porto clash

Arsenal went into Tuesday having lost their last five knockout stage games at the Emirates. That included three losses at the hands of Bayern Munich, with the Bavarian giants winning 5-1 in the 2016/17 season.

And speaking to TNT Sports (broadcast on 12/3; 20:03), Ally McCoist suggested that he was taken aback upon learning how long it has been since Arsenal won a knockout game at home.

“I could not believe that stat regarding Arsenal losing their last five in the UCL knockout stages at home. I thought that was an incredible statistic. But one thing you can say is their home form in general since coming back from the break has been nothing short of magnificent,” he said.

Mikel Arteta’s side looking to write their own history

Obviously, that history was never likely to impact this Arsenal side. The Gunners are a completely different team to the one who last played in this competition. So any of the previous scars have surely healed.

Ultimately, the 1-0 loss in the first-leg meant that Arsenal had no time to dwell on history. Their task was obvious, with the team not needing to worry about whether they stick or twist.

This is an Arsenal team looking to write their own history. They sit at the top of the Premier League right now and are very much contenders once again this season.

And whatever happened, there is surely absolutely no chance that they have to wait another seven years to feature in the Champions League knockout stages again after this year.