Champions League winner dubbed ‘time traveller’ as fans spot Porto star from picture 17 YEARS ago looking exactly same
ARSENAL are set to face a familiar foe in Porto in the Champions League Last 16.
The Gunners made it to the knockouts after topping Group B ahead of PSV Eindhoven, Lens and Sevilla.
The Portuguese giants, on the other hand, finished second in Group H behind Barcelona and above Shakhtar Donetsk as well as Royal Antwerp.
Now the two European powerhouses will lock horns for the first time since 2010, having faced off six times before with the North Londoners winning thrice and losing twice along the way.
Arsenal’s official website looked back at all their previous meetings with Porto and decided to share a picture from their 2-0 win at the Emirates in 2006.
The photo showed Thierry Henry scoring the first goal for Arsene Wenger’s side at the time, before Aleksandr Hleb sealed the three points in the group stage.
Next to Henry was Porto legend Pepe, who was just starting to introduce himself to the world stage at the age of 23, just a year before moving to Real Madrid and winning three Champions League titles.
And now the Portugal international is set to face Arsenal again 17 years later despite his advanced age of 40 years old.
Fans also noticed the centre-back hasn’t changed one bit since their last meeting, with some even suggesting the famous hardman is a “time traveller”.
One fan tweeted: “Pepe t¡me traveled! Man looks the fogg¡n’ same.”
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Another commented: “Pepe faced Thierry, and he’s about to face another Arsenal generational talent – [Bukayo] Saka in the same lifetime. Guy is made of steel.”
A third posted: “I find it remarkable that Pepe is still playing at the highest level. Very close to retirement I’m sure but a big achievement!.”
This fan said: “Look at Pepe then and still there again.”
And that one stated: “Pepe’s longevity is absolutely insane.”
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