Arsenal made their comeback to Europe’s premier club competition, after a six-year absence and they seem to have come back with their tails up, putting up several impressive displays during the group stages. FC Porto has been a regular participant in the UEFA Champions League, making twelve consecutive appearances in the same number of years.
The 2023/2024 UEFA Champions League group stage draw saw Arsenal placed in group B alongside the likes of Spanish heavyweights Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and RC Lens. Porto found themselves in group H set to compete against La Liga champions Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Royal Antwerp for a place in the round of 16.
Arsenal got their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign off to a flying start as they made light work of their Dutch opponents PSV Eindhoven, coasting to a 4-0 win at the Emirates. Bukayo Saka put the Gunners up within just eight minutes of play, reacting quickest after Martin Ordegaard’s strike was parried by PSV goalkeeper Benitez and smashing his first-time shot past the Argentine. Leandro Trossard doubled Arsenal’s lead twenty minutes in after superbly drilling in Saka’s square pass beyond the despairing dive of Bintez following a quick break.
Gabriel Jesus made it 3-0 in the 38th minute, showing great technique as he expertly controlled Trossard’s deep cross and finished with a plum before Ordegaard wrapped things up with a brilliant long-range effort in the 70th minute.
The Gunners however suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat in their second UEFA Champions League match at the hands of RC Lens. Gabriel Jesus put Arsenal in the lead within 14 minutes of play as the Gunners took advantage of a defensive error to grab the opener. Lens came roaring back in the 25th minute when Adrien Thomasson’s exquisite strike flew past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya into the net before eventually snatching the lead in the 69th minute when Przemyslaw Frankowski picked out Elye Wahi with a delightful cross, the latter with a sublime finish past Raya in goal.
This defeat saw Arsenal relinquish first place to the Ligue 1 side. Back-to-back wins against Sevilla saw Mikel Arteta’s men take back control of Group B before a ruthless 6-0 hammering of RC Lens guaranteed the Gunners a first-place finish in the group. Arsenal rounded up their group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven, recording 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss to see them qualify top of group B.
Meanwhile, FC Porto kicked off their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign with a 3-1 victory over group H rivals Shakhtar Donetsk with all the goals coming in the first half. Wenderson Galeno put Porto ahead within eight minutes of play with a simple tap-in following Shakhtar goalkeeper Dymtro Riznyk’s parry of Andre Franco’s long-range effort. Shakhtar drew level five minutes later with Kevin Kelsy’s header, a befitting wrap to a flowing move however, Porto retook the lead in no time as Galeno pounced on a terrible backline pass from Novatus Miroshi before finishing low beyond Riznyk. Medhi Taremi extended Porto’s lead in the 29th minute, arriving in the box to side-foot Galeno’s cross from the left flank into the net.
Porto suffered a narrow defeat in their next UEFA Champions League group stage match at the hands of Spanish giants and group H favorites FC Barcelona, losing 1-0 after Ferran Torres grabbed the only goal of the match in first-half stoppage time. Porto recovered from the Barcelona loss with back-to-back wins against Belgian side Royal Antwerp, recording 4-1 and 2-0 victories respectively.
Porto fell to their second loss of the group stages to FC Barcelona yet again, this time losing 2-1 to the Blaugrana despite initially taking the lead in that match. Porto secured their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 following an eight-goal thriller against Shakhtar Donetsk in their final group stage match as they emerged 5-3 winners. Galeno starred, getting himself a brace and an assist while the likes of Medhi Taremi, Pepe, and Chico Conceicao also got on the scoresheet.
Head-to-head statistics reveal that Arsenal and FC Porto have met six times in the past. Arsenal have recorded three wins (12 goals scored) while Porto have emerged winners twice (4 goals scored) with one draw.
Match tickets
It promises to be an exciting encounter at the Emirates Stadium in London with kick-off set for Tuesday, March 12, 2024, 20:00 GMT.
The 60,704-capacity stadium in London is set to host this very exciting match-up.
Getting tickets for the Arsenal v FC Porto tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Arsenal are a side who are strong in possession and press aggressively out of possession. This enables them to dominate and control games in and out of possession. Injury concerns include Fabio Viera (groin), Timber (knee) and Partey (muscle).
Arsenal XI: Raya, Kiwior, Saliba, Gabriel, White, Havertz, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Porto look to utilize the flanks and then put crosses into the box for their forwards or attacking players to finish. Defensively, they are usually well-organized and disciplined. injury concerns include Mercano (ACL)
Porto XI: Costa, Wendell, Cardoso, Pepe, Mario, Pepe, Eustaquio, Grujic, Galeno, Evanilson, Taremi
Prediction
Arsenal have shown great potential in Europe this season but FC Porto will pose a stern test for them. It remains to be seen if the Gunners can muster enough firepower to dispatch their opponents.
Arsenal 2-1 FC Porto