Arsenal will face off against FC Porto in The Champions League this week as we look to continue our Champions League journey. Porto currently sit 3rd in the Primeira Liga and have had a very positive season and will be looking to knock Arsenal out of the Round of 16, while Arsenal will be looking to make a run into the next stage and hopefully make a big stamp on the tournament.
Porto are a very well-established side and have won two Champions League titles in their history and plenty more honours for the club in general. They started this season’s Champions League in Group H, alongside Barcelona, Shakhtar and Royal Antwerp and ended up coming second in the group on joint points with top of the group Barcelona.
They had quite good run in the group stages and have looked like a hard team to beat and with the game being at their home stadium, The Estadio do Dragao in Portugal, they will have the home advantage, which could play a major part in the clash.
Their manager Sergio Conceicao, is a good manager and has got them playing well this season and will push them as far as he can to try and triumph over the Gunners, doing whatever he can to make it hard for us. He gets them to play very compact football and a lot of their play revolves around the midfield. He’s had a lot of success while manager of Porto and is the second most decorated manager in Portuguese League History.
He will be looking to try break down Arsenal’s midfield and stye of play with a very passionate set of fans behind him and the squad cheering them on at home. He’s produced what seems like a very passionate team that stick and work together and will play at full force until the final whistle.
They have a lot of strength going forward and will be looking for an early goal. Striker Evanilson has been on fire this season scoring 19 goals in only 27 matches and will be on the charge forward to try to break down our backline and get his team over the line. Diogo Costa is their number one keeper, and I don’t think I need to explain how good he can be, but when he is at his best, he’s very hard to get past.
Arteta will definitely have a game plan and will be looking to try stop the physical presence that Porto usually have. We will need our best players to be at their best and after the last few games, we should be full of confidence. After being out of this tournament for such a long time, it would be a huge statement to go away and win against an experienced Champions League team like Porto, but a lot of pressure will be on our shoulders to succeed.
Hopefully we can put our heads down and get the job done, if we can come back home with a good result and go into the second game against them on our own turf, I think we can bring it home at The Emirates.
Can we do it? YES WE CAN!
Daisy Mae
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