Arsenal handed favourable draw for Champions League round of 16 as opponents revealed

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Arsenal have now learned of their opponents in the Champions League round of 16, as they have been drawn against Portuguese giants FC Porto.

Porto are currently third in the Portuguese top flight, behind Sporting CP and Benfica, and came second in their group behind Barcelona.

Arsenal stormed through the Champions League group stages as Bukayo Saka particularly impressed, as they kept three clean sheets at home against PSV Eindhoven, Sevilla and RC Lens, whilst also beating Sevilla away.

Porto finished above Royal Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk to qualify for the knockout stages, and they have a lot of experience in the competition.

Arsenal are set to face FC Porto in Champions League knockouts

Arsenal are set to play in Porto for the first leg, before returning to the Emirates two weeks later, with the first tie set to take place either on the 13th or 14th February, or the week after on the 20th or 21st.

Porto were knocked out at the round of 16 last season, losing to Inter Milan but last reached the quarter-final stage in the 2020-21 season, when they knocked out Juventus before losing to eventual Champions Chelsea.

They have two Champions League or European Cup triumphs to their name, as they beat Bayern Munich in 1977, and Jose Mourinho’s side beat Monaco in 2004.

Arsenal’s Champions League history with FC Porto

The last time Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League was in 2009-10, having also beaten Porto in the last-16.

Arsenal actually lost 2-1 in Portugal in the first leg, as Radamel Falcao scored the winner after Sol Campbell had initially equalised after Varela’s opener.

Arsene Wenger’s side then produced a masterclass to win 5-0 in the second leg, which saw Nicklas Bendtner score a hattrick, Samir Nasri score a wondergoal and Emmanuel Eboue provide a goal off the bench.

Arsenal then lost to Barcelona in the quarter-finals, after a 2-2 draw in the first leg was eradicated by a 4-1 loss at the Camp Nou, with Lionel Messi scoring all four for the hosts.

Arsenal star Fabio Vieira was signed from Porto at the start of last season, and he will face his former club for the first time since he left.

Arsenal have faced Porto six times in the Champions League, with four games coming in the group stage before the round of 16 victory in 2010. Arsenal won all three ties at home, but lost two and drew one of the away legs.

The Gunners scored 12 times over these six games, whilst Porto scored just four, and whilst this is not exactly an easy draw, it is a favourable one for Mikel Arteta’s side compared to some of the other opponents they could have drawn, which includes last season’s finalists Inter Milan.