Porto vs Arsenal – Champions League last-16: Gunners look to continue good form as they face Portuguese giants
ARSENAL travel to Portuguese giants Porto for Wednesday’s first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
The Gunners have been in superb form of late, winning their last five games and scoring 21 goals in the process.
Arsenal are flying high in the Premier League and are two points off Liverpool at the top of the tree.
Mikel Arteta‘s men booked their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League after finishing first in Group B with 13 points from a possible 18.
Elsewhere, Porto finished runner-up to Barcelona in Group H to secure their place in the last-16.
However, the Portuguese giants have had an underwhelming season domestically and are currently 3rd in Liga Portugal.
Porto are part of an elite list containing only 11 clubs who have won the Champions League more than once, doing so in 1987 and 2004.
They have not made it to the final since but are a strong team when it comes to getting through the round of 16 and into the quarter-finals, doing so in half of their six most recent last-16 ties.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are yet to lay their hands on the Champions League, only making the final once in 2006.
The Gunners do not have much recent history in Europe’s elite competition, with this season being their first in six seasons.
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Even before that, Arsenal fell at the last-16 hurdle on each of their last seven occasions.
But that was an old Arsenal, one that had grown stale and lacked the mental fortitude to reach for the heights of both domestic and European silverware.
This team with fresh faces – a team that reminds Robert Pires of himself and his Invincibles – should have no such problems.
What is their form like?
Porto were rocked earlier this month with a surprise defeat to Arouca following another 0-0 draw with Moreirense, both of which saw Porto players sent off.
That being said, they have still won three of their last six league games.
In the Champions League they were also only beaten by Barcelona in the group stages, winning all four of their other matches against Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have hit their stride in the league after a bumpy festive period.
The Gunners have won six league games in a row and scored 21 goals in that time, including 11 in their last two games.
They were similarly strong in the Champions League earlier this season, losing just one game and winning four to top the group with just four goals conceded.
Team news
The hosts will be without centre-back Zaidu Sanusi after he sustained a serious injury in his first game back from Afcon.
Striker Mehdi Taremi could return to the starting line-up after being left on the bench against Estrela da Amadora.
The 31-year-old has reportedly agreed to join Inter Milan on a free transfer in the summer.
For Arsenal, Fabio Vieira could return to action after having surgery to face his former side in his home country.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu could all play a part in Porto following their respective injury lay-offs.
Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Jurrien Timber remain out.
Star players
Brazilian forward Evanilson will be the biggest threat Porto have going forward.
He netted four goals in the Champions League group stage while missing the first match.
The 24-year-old is also one of the few Porto stars who have remained mostly consistent in a stuttering league campaign, with five goals in his last six games.
Evanilson is also a threat when it comes to playing in team-mates with 1.2 key passes per game.
As he normally is, Bukayo Saka will be the main problem the opposition need to look out for.
The Englishman’s electric pace and dynamic threat in the final third mean he can turn any moment into a dangerous situation like flipping a switch.
Saka is behind only Jesus for Arsenal goals in the Champions League group stage and has been involved in more goals than any other player in this year’s competition.
His passing range isn’t bad either, and with the Gunners being on fire in recent weeks you could put good moneyon Saka creating a fair few chances for his team-mates.
What have the managers said?
Porto boss Sergio Conceicao, who like Arteta has been linked to both the Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain jobs, has called on the home support to give the team “strength and unity”.
He said: “I often talk about the passion our fans feel for the team, they are the first player because without them the club doesn’t exist, but it takes a little more from everyone.
“We told the players that the game against Vilar de Perdizes, for example, was our Champions League and I hope the public realises that the team is young and needs the fans, that strength and unity.
“The team does everything to deserve the support of our fans. Today, after we reached the 2-0, there were a lot of people who unfortunately left the stadium, I don’t know what they were waiting for or if they were saving themselves for the game on Wednesday.
“It is a warning that I make because we need our fans to have this strength for the remaining games.
“We have the championship, no one gives up on that at this club, so we will continue to fight, the Portuguese Cup and the Champions League, the most important club competition in the world, and we are the only Portuguese team fighting for it.”
Arsenal boss Arteta has heaped praise on his team following their recent wins, and he has been particularly impressed with their domination of games.
Speaking after the Burnley game, he said: “Yes, obviously we want to dominate the game and play in the opponents’ half as much as possible.
“I think the threat, the purpose, the activity and the connections of the players at the moment is flowing and they really want it.
“We have momentum now and we have to maintain it.
“Now we leave the Premier League and go to Porto, we know it’s going to be a really tough environment and game to play again, and we just need to prepare well to go again and be ourselves.”
Predicted line-ups
SunSport prediction
Historically Arsenal have had the better of Porto, with three wins to two and one draw between them.
But Arsenal have never won away at Porto and we think that trend will continue despite the teams’ relative form.
There is also the potential mental block of this Arsenal team’s predecessors, with the Gunners not making it past the Champions League last-16 since 2010.
We do believe Arsenal will get a goal, however, before doing the real damage at the Emirates in the second leg.
Porto 1-1 Arsenal
When is Porto vs Arsenal?
- Porto vs Arsenal will take place on Wednesday, February 21.
- Kick off will be at 8pm.
- The Estadio do Dragao will host.
What TV channel is Porto vs Arsenal on and can it be live streamed?
- Porto vs Arsenal will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1.
- TNT Sports customers can live stream the match on discovery+.
- Alternatively, you can keep up to date with all the action by following SunSport’s live blog.
What are the odds?
Match result
- Porto – 21/5
- Draw – 27/10
- Arsenal – 4/6
*Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes and are correct at the time of publication.