Arsenal to face Porto in UCL round of 16 – What happened in the last six meetings?
Arsenal have been drawn alongside Porto in the round of 16 stage of the Champions League.
The Gunners returned to the competition after a six-year wait earlier this season and they had a good group stage campaign, finishing top with 13 points from six games.
The north London giants had the possibility of facing the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and RB Leipzig in the last 16, but they have instead been drawn with Porto.
The Portuguese outfit were impressive in the group stage themselves. They finished with the same points at Barcelona (12) but finished second in the standings on the head-to-head.
Mikel Arteta’s side will travel to the Estadio do Dragao for the first leg on February 13/14 or February 20/21 with the return leg at the Emirates on March 5/6 or March 12/13.
Before the double-legged tie, let’s have a look at what happened in the last six meetings.
Champions League group stage – 2006/07 season
Arsenal and Porto first met competitively in the Champions League group stage in 2006/07.
The Gunners won 2-0 in matchday 1 at the Emirates with Thierry Henry and Aleksandr Hleb being the goalscorers. They played out a goalless draw in the reverse fixture.
The London side finished top of their group on the head-to-head with 11 points.
Champions League group stage – 2008/09 season
Arsene Wenger’s side comfortably saw off the threat of Porto with a resounding 4-0 win in the first match day. Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor bagged a brace.
With qualification confirmed for both teams, a weakened Gunners line-up went on to lose 2-1 on the road and thereby finished second in the group behind Porto by one point.
Champions League round of 16 – 2009/10 season
The Gunners last met Porto during the round of 16 stage of the Champions League in 2009/10. The club suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at the Estadio do Dragao in the first leg.
They responded tremendously at home with a resounding 5-0 win to secure a 6-2 aggregate victory. Nicklas Bendtner bagged a hat-trick while Samir Nasri scored a sublime solo goal.
This was the last time that the Gunners reached the last eight of the Champions League. They went out in the round of 16 stage in the next seven editions of the competition.
On paper, Arsenal will start as favourites this time but they can’t be complacent after the surprise penalty shoot-out exit to Sporting in the Europa League last 16 last season.
Porto can’t be taken lightly and the Gunners need a strong showing on the road with a couple of goals to put themselves in the ascendancy before the return game at home.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
