Arsenal will face Porto in the last 16 of the Champions League following this morning’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
Having finished top of our group, Arsenal were seeded in the draw and will subsequently play the second leg at home.
Dates are yet to be confirmed but the first legs will take place on 13/14 or 20/21 February, while the return legs are on 5/6 or 12/13 March.
Arsenal have faced Porto on six occasions, dating back to 2006. We’re three wins from three at home but trips to the Estadio do Dragao have proved troublesome. We’ve lost the last two.
Fabio Vieira will be hoping he returns to fitness in time to face his former club. The Portugal international is currently out injured with a groin problem.
Reflecting on the draw, Sporting Director Edu said: “We are going to play against a club that is very used to playing in the competition because they play in it every single year and they have a lot of players as well with big experience.
“We have to understand how are we going to play and respect them as much as we can. We will play our game and see if we can go through this stage.
“We can see how they are playing, how organised they are, and the players that they have. Porto is a club that you have to be really prepared to play against or we’ll have problems, so what we have to concentrate on is maintaining our levels and the way we are playing.”
Full draw
FC Porto vs Arsenal
Napoli vs Barcelona
PSG vs Real Sociedad
Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid
PSV Eindhoven vs Borussia Dortmund
Lazio vs Bayern Munich
FC Copenhagen vs Manchester City
RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid
Yes, another 5-0 for us
That’s the spirit
Also, some big teams going out in this round…
Barca or Napoli
Inter or Athletico
I really think we can go deep this year.
I’m afraid of no one.
COYG!!!
I would love another 5-0 but I don’t think this game will be easy. Porto are very organized and strong but I feel over the 2 games we should be able to beat them. I was hoping we get Copenhagen but atleast we avoided PSG, Inter and Napoli which were a bit more tricky. Hopefully Tomi will be fully fit for these games.
Copenhagen were nailed on for City.
Oily balls?
Here we go!!!
I’m more confident of us winning the UCL than the EPL simply cos of how diabolical English refs are.
Plus, if we can get Partey fit and firing for the remainder of the season, him and Rice in front of a Saliba and Gabriel pairing is a serious team that poses a threat to ANYONE. I am quietly excited about this one.
But we will still win the epl. No matter how diabolical English refs are, they can’t will goals out of the net.
well, not this week they can’t- but next week who knows what rulebook they’ll be using
I wish people would stop this. The officiating has been terrible, especially VAR, but there is not the slightest evidence that Arsenal have been affected more than other teams. They should issue yellow cards more often for fouls on Saka, but he is not the only brilliant attacking player this happens to. Speaking of cautions: Yes, Arteta picks up soft yellow cards that other managers probably wouldn’t. But our players do not. We have *by far* received the fewest cautions in the league–22, while no one else have gotten fewer than 30. Chelsea have been carded 50 times, Spurs 46,… Read more »
Why? There is a lot to be said for an ‘us against the world’ mentality. Who gives a toss what others think. Also, there is plenty of evidence. the Newcastle goal? The obvious penalty vs Villa, you could probably find one or two heinous decision in every other game. Other teams have also had horrible calls against them (Liverpool, Wolves, etc), but who gives a toss about them?
Why? Because we live in a time when this sort of bullshit affects things that are more important than football (famously, the most important unimportant thing). Telling the truth matters.
As I think you know, your point about evidence supports what I said–there has been some horrible officiating and it has nothing to do with any prejudice against Arsenal.
I’m with A Different George in that there is no conspiracy, but I wouldn’t say the refs are terrible, or at least no worse than they have ever been. In my view, they are at least ok, probably very good, they make fewer mistakes than the average player, but when they do they are highlighted. Doesn’t fit the narrative though of awful refs and PGMOL showing bias
Nobody said there was a conspiracy, that just came from your own mind!
The play has become faster, the players better at cheating and rules more difficult to enforce. Referees have not evolved correspondingly, and are lagging behind.
You can’t handle the truth!
Don’t know what your agenda is, but that is manifestly incorrect.
You actually know 😅
Maybe PSV or Copenhagen would have been easier. Porto is tough, but not unsurmountable.
Lol. How do you want to play PSV in the group stage and do it again in the RO16
Hahaha
I’d have been shocked if we got PSV saying as they make it abundantly clear that you can be drawn against a team in your group.
You are right, I am wrong. Arsenal couldn’t have drawn PSV.
Did you mean PSG?
Nice attempt at a save 😉
Couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to be honest. And not to downplay the challenge Porto poses, but we should be good for this tie
Copenhagen would have been a better draw for us. Porto are solid team but we have enough quality to beat them.
Who did Man U get?
haha
They got depression.
It’s pretty incredible to look at that last 16 and not see Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea or Tottenham there.
Porto’s never an easy one but I’d much rather them than the raging lunatics of Napolii or Inter or the petrol oligarchs of PSG. Decent draw overall and one we should get by, here’s to Vieira bending the winner into the top corner
not excited to watch Pepe two foot Saka smh
Too many Pepes, they should all play for Trabzonspor to avoid confusion!
And while we’re at it, the can be managed by pep.
Good to avoid PSG and Inter. I am really looking forward to playing one of the big boys like Real. The way we play right now it will be so pleasant to see us compete against the best teams. And I know we can. And it will be a beautiful game to watch.
Don’t think ‘pleasant’ describes what we’ll be experiencing on the match day if / once we face them though haha
As long as we have our key players we good. But I hear ya haha
Perhaps by February it will be fine already but at the moment tbh I’m not sad that this team gets more time to gel and click together before running against one of the continent’s behemoths. You can see it’s already starting to look very different with Havertz and Rice as the engines and Raya at the back, and I think with another month or two we can reach an even higher level, imagine last year’s fluency with this year’s control and physicality 🤯 And you never know, by then we might have some currently fringe player like ESR stepping up,… Read more »
Tricky but surmountable. Bring it on!
Easy entry into the quarters
I’m not sure any last 16 is easy mate
Let’s just play the round of 16
Somehow I’m not surprised that city got Copenhagen
Hope City freeze their b0llocks off in the away leg
Not much differences in temperature between Manchester and Copenhagen at the moment. It’s not as wet in Denmark as in ManC country. Maybe the Danes will drown?
Its propably colder in Manchester then Copenhagen in february
It was +9c this morning at 7 am in Denmark. *points to map*
And its been raining. I’m not many miles away on the other side of the water and it’s fucking soaked here.
They did a study on this and it has something to do with the Manchester name in a team.
If we want to win the whole thing, then beating Porto over two legs is a default.
Beating Porto at home should be fairly straightforward if we are up to our current level. Away at Porto will be a tight game but we should edge it out.
So much surprise City got Copenhagen. Just so much wow. Me no process
There were WAY worse ties, so I’m glad. I don’t think it will be easy, but that is the point of the Champions League.
easy af qual
Les Do Dis
Lez do diiiiiiiiiis!!
City again with a very favorable draw- how long before people stop seeing these things as coincidence?
This is getting boring
Happy to have a chance of going through but I want somebody big in the next round. I grew up on Cesc at the San Siro, Henry at the Bernabeu, Arshavin vs Barcelona – those are the kind of moments we’re in this competition for!
I’d forgotten that wonderful tingling feeling of a CL knockout round match. Can’t wait to experience it again soon!
Nice draw: not easy but not hard either. All things being equal we should make it through over the two legs.
I want a Real Madrid or Barcelona in the next round: that’s what the Champions League is all about.
Agreed, I want to play the big boys any time it’s possible.
Agreed. My annual trip to London includes the CL quarterfinal this year, I want to see one of the giants.
Would have loved PSG or Napoli tbh. I want big European nights.
Only big things about psg are their wages.
Where’s Man U??? 🤣🤣
Yea or Liverpool and Chelsea with there big chat