Diogo Costa reveals FC Porto know the weak points of Arsenal as they aim for victory tonight

Arsenal face FC Porto in the first-leg of the Champions League round of 16 tonight in Portugal, and they will be desperate to secure a vital win ahead of the second-leg at Emirates Stadium next month.

The Gunners failed to progress beyond the last-16 in each of their last seven appearances in the competition, with the 2009-10 campaign the last time they advanced to the quarter-finals.

Arsenal defeated Porto to do so at the time and will fancy their chances again this time around, but Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa believes they have weaknesses the hosts plan to exploit tonight.

“Of course, they have their weak points,” he said during the press conference last night.

“Of course, I’m not going to tell what we’re going to do. We’re going to do our best job for winning the game.”

Arsenal are the third-favourites to win the Champions League this season according to the bookies, but Costa is having none of that, insisting they have to prove themselves against Porto first.

“If they are the favourites, they need to show they are the favourite team to win,” he fired back when reminded that the Gunners have been tipped to go far in the competition.

"Arsenal have weak points… they need to show us they are one of the favourites!" 👀@FCPorto goalkeeper Diogo Costa pulling no punches ahead of tomorrow night 😯 pic.twitter.com/fmknyWnBEy

— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) February 20, 2024

Porto have been impressive across all competitions this term and are currently third in their league table.

They scored seven goals in their last two home games in the Champions League – as many as they had in their previous nine home matches in the competition combined – and they will be in the mood against the Gunners.

Porto have lost just one of their last ten games across all competitions, but they will be facing a different side in Arsenal, who have bagged 11 goals in their last two games in the Premier League.

Each of the last five teams to eliminate Porto from the competition in the knockout stages went on to reach the final that season, and the Gunners could be next in line.

However, they will need to be on top of their game as the fixtures will not be easy given the quality of the Portuguese side.