Declan Rice admits Arsenal showed “inexperience” in their narrow Champions League defeat to Porto but says he and his team-mates remain upbeat that they can progress in the tournament.
Galeno’s late winner means Arsenal will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit when the two sides face off at the Emirates Stadium in the second leg next month.
But Rice insists the defeat has not dented Arsenal’s optimism that they can make it through to the quarter finals.
“I think the last minute is probably a bit of inexperience,” he said.
“It’s the 93rd minute, you look up at the clock and it’s 0-0, we give away the ball on the edge of our box twice and he bends one in the top bins.
“We’ve got to have a bit of savviness to see out the game because if you can’t win, don’t lose, especially in a knockout game.
“But look, we’re still positive, it’s half-time in a two-legged tie so we’ll be ready for the next leg.
“We’ve lost games and drawn games this year and I’ve seen the changing room after, and it’s been really bad when we’ve lost and drawn games.
“But tonight, we’ve just lost in there but there’s a real positivity around the group at the minute, around the club. I think we’ve had such a good start to 2024.
“We’ll take the positives from this game tonight and see where we can improve. It’s going to be a big game in two weeks’ time and we’ll be ready for it.”
Arsenal had scored 11 goals in their previous two games heading into the tie but failed to manage a shot on target at the Estádio do Dragão.
And Rice knows his side must play better if they are to progress.
“Not every game is going to be fives and sixes,” he added.
“You’re going to come up against teams who have been watching us and seeing what they can do to stop us.
“I don’t think we had a shot on target so it’s tough to take, it’s tough to hear that.
“But like I said, we’re really positive still. There’s a real positivity around the place at the minute so we’re going to keep our heads held high.”
