Fabianski horror show sinks Arsenal at Porto

Porto 2 Arsenal 1. One's called Fabregas and is an Arsenal legend, the other's called Fabianski and is an Arsenal liability. That will be the assessment of Gunners fans this morning as they wake up to the realisation that their bungling goalkeeper gifted Porto their two goals in last night's defeat away at Porto.

Lukasz Fabianski, deputising for the injured Manuel Almunia, committed his first gaffe on ten minutes when he palmed Silvestre Varela's cross into his own net. Varela had done well to turn Gael Clichy inside out like an old sock but his cross was harmless enough. Yet somehow the 24-year-old Pole, under no pressure, spilled the ball and Arsenal watched in horror as it ended up in the back of their net.

Arsenal struck back seven minutes later with a sharp header from Sol Campbell, the 35-year-old defender rising phoenix-like to head the ball into the Porto net, in his first European match since he scored for the Gunners in the 2006 Champions League final.

But then seven minutes into the second half came another moment of madness from Fabianski. Campbell, the pick of the Arsenal back four on a night when they were tested by the pace and skill of Falcao, tapped the ball back to his keeper who picked it up when he should have hoofed it clear.

As Campbell hung his head in disbelief at his keeper's carelessness, referee Martin Hansson (the official who missed Thierry Henry's handball against Ireland in November's World Cup qualifier) awarded an indirect free kick to the hosts. Porto took it quickly with Ruben Micael laying off the ball to Falcao who drilled it into the net as Fabianski was still arguing with Hansson.

Wenger did his best to defend his clowning keeper, saying: "What can you do about the second goal? Whenever do you see the defender kick the ball back with his toe? The ball hit Sol, it was not on purpose and it has to be intentional to be a free-kick. It is difficult to understand how the referee can interpret that."

Wenger was also fuming about the referee's decision to allow Porto to take the free-kick quickly, saying: "If you allow the team to play quickly, just five metres from the goal, how can you defend that? It was unbelievable that he allowed Porto to play straightaway and push the ball into the net. I have never seen that and I have been in the game a long time. When the referee gives the free-kick he has to allow us a chance to defend it, otherwise it is better to give a goal straight away. From a situation where there was no goal chance at all, and no free-kick as well, the referee gives them just a goal."

Asked to blame Fabianski for costing Arsenal the game, Wenger refused to do so, at least publicly. "I do not want to come out individually on Lukasz's performance, and judge him in front of everybody," he said. "You have to accept you lose as a team and win as a team. Any individual performance has not to be analysed publicly."

But Wenger's captain, Cesc Fabregas, was less willing to hide behind the referee when asked to assess his side's defeat. The young Spaniard, as imperious as ever despite coming in for such rough attention from the Porto side, said: "The goals were schoolboy goals. After the second one we were too soft. We were not strong enough to stand up.

"I have no complaints about the second goal. Maybe I would have done the same. When you let in goals like that, I'm sorry, you cannot go anywhere. We have nothing to complain about. Sometimes we're not strong enough to lift ourselves and that's what happened." ·