Arsenal faces the looming prospect of an untimely elimination from the Champions League as they endeavor to reverse a 1-0 shortfall in their forthcoming clash against Porto at the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of the last-16 encounter scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Mikel Arteta’s squad found themselves poised to secure a commendable goalless draw in the initial encounter, only to suffer a setback in the closing moments due to an astonishing late goal by Galeno.
Match preview
The relentless scoring form displayed by Arsenal seemed indomitable as they thrashed West Ham United and Burnley with six and five goals respectively in consecutive matches, preceding their encounter with Porto in the last-16 stage of the Champions League. Porto, having conceded five goals to Barcelona in their final group stage match, appeared vulnerable.
However, Arsenal played into Porto’s hands by conceding unnecessary fouls, albeit some of them soft, and displayed naivety at crucial moments. Sergio Conceicao’s Porto capitalized on these opportunities, culminating in Galeno’s long-range curler finding the bottom corner of the net in remarkable fashion.
In an uncommonly ineffective performance, Arsenal failed to register a single shot on target at the Estadio do Dragao, a feat not seen since 2011 in Champions League competition. Despite this setback, Arteta’s team responded positively, securing three consecutive victories over Newcastle United, Sheffield United, and Brentford, with the latter victory sealed by a late goal from Kai Havertz in the 86th minute.
These wins propelled Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League table, a position they hadn’t held since December. A 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Manchester City further cemented Arsenal’s position at the league summit with 10 games remaining.
Arteta, meanwhile, endeavors to devise a winning strategy to avoid an eighth consecutive elimination from the Champions League at the last-16 stage. Reflecting on their successful group stage campaign, where they won all three matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding none, Arteta seeks to replicate that form against Porto.
Despite Arsenal’s historical struggles in overturning first-leg deficits in the Champions League, they notably achieved it against Porto in the 2009-10 season. To avoid a similar fate this time, Porto arrives in London with confidence boosted by recent domestic victories, including a convincing 5-0 win against Benfica.
Porto, however, faces an uphill task, having failed to win any of their previous 22 matches in England and with Arsenal having dominated their previous encounters at the Emirates Stadium, including a memorable 5-0 victory in the reverse fixture of their last-16 tie in the 2009-10 season.
Team News
The relentless scoring form displayed by Arsenal seemed indomitable as they thrashed West Ham United and Burnley with six and five goals respectively in consecutive matches, preceding their encounter with Porto in the last-16 stage of the Champions League. Porto, having conceded five goals to Barcelona in their final group stage match, appeared vulnerable.
However, Arsenal played into Porto’s hands by conceding unnecessary fouls, albeit some of them soft, and displayed naivety at crucial moments. Sergio Conceicao’s Porto capitalized on these opportunities, culminating in Galeno’s long-range curler finding the bottom corner of the net in remarkable fashion.
In an uncommonly ineffective performance, Arsenal failed to register a single shot on target at the Estadio do Dragao, a feat not seen since 2011 in Champions League competition. Despite this setback, Arteta’s team responded positively, securing three consecutive victories over Newcastle United, Sheffield United, and Brentford, with the latter victory sealed by a late goal from Kai Havertz in the 86th minute.
These wins propelled Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League table, a position they hadn’t held since December. A 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Manchester City further cemented Arsenal’s position at the league summit with 10 games remaining.
Arteta, meanwhile, endeavors to devise a winning strategy to avoid an eighth consecutive elimination from the Champions League at the last-16 stage. Reflecting on their successful group stage campaign, where they won all three matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding none, Arteta seeks to replicate that form against Porto.
Despite Arsenal’s historical struggles in overturning first-leg deficits in the Champions League, they notably achieved it against Porto in the 2009-10 season. To avoid a similar fate this time, Porto arrives in London with confidence boosted by recent domestic victories, including a convincing 5-0 win against Benfica.
Porto, however, faces an uphill task, having failed to win any of their previous 22 matches in England and with Arsenal having dominated their previous encounters at the Emirates Stadium, including a memorable 5-0 victory in the reverse fixture of their last-16 tie in the 2009-10 season.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Jesus
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Pepe, Otavio, Wendell; Varela, Gonzalez; Conceicao, Pepe, Galeno; Evanilson