FC Porto vs Arsenal – Arshavin missing from crucial Champions League match

The influential Andrei Arshavin will miss Arsenal’s trip to Porto in the first knockout stage of the Champions League on Wednesday. This is quite a crucial blow for Gunner’s boss Arsene Wenger as he is already struggling for options up front. Arshavin is one of those stand out quality type of players, much in the mould of Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. There’s a little bit of a special presence there, which comes from quality and time on the ball, as well as being able to do something a little unexpected. Arshavin picked up an injury in the important win in the Premier League over Liverpool, which helped to secure Arsenal’s current third place position. The Gunners have a comfortable ride through Champions League qualification, and they have a great history in the tournament, especially at home. If they can get at least a draw away in Porto, then they will be strong favourites to progress.

Arsenal will have seen Chelsea dispose of Porto’s challenge easily enough and while they are bold team, they don’t possess the overall quality of Arsenal. That is, if Arsenal live up to their potential. The Gunners have had two major malfunctions in the Premier League recently, losing to both Manchester United and Arsenal, which realistically would have ended their dreams of winning the league. While Porto aren’t in the same class as Chelsea or Manchester United, it should serve as a warning to Arsenal that there are tougher challenges to come if they are going to secure some silverware this season. The last time Arsenal played in Porto at the end of 2008, then lost 2-0, but have previously beat them 4-0 at the Emirates.

Porto will take heart from that result, but will need to improve from what they produced in the group stages. Their games against Chelsea were productive from a work ethic point of view, but they appeared to lack enough conviction or cutting edge to break down the Chelsea defence. Porto will be sending out a different offensive line up to what they did in the group stages, so it will be a bit of the unknown facing Arsenal’s defence. One of their most offensive weapons, Brazilian forward Hulk, is not in action after being suspended for taking part in a brawl in against Benfica. That has meant that Silvestre Varela has had a chance to shine, and could cause Arsenal all sorts of problems with his speed. Alongside Mariano Gonzalez up front, Porto do have some serious offensive threat, and with Arsenal somewhat weakened up the back, it should be a stern test for them.

Although they are lagging behind in the race for the domestic title, Porto, as seen in the past in the Champions League, can cause teams problems. They are probably a little stronger than they were in the group stages, and Arsenal need a strong performance in Porto, where the Portuguese side will fancy their chances of getting a good head  start before heading back to the Emirates. Arsenal won’t want to play catch up, and a draw would probably be quite satisfactory for Wenger.

BETTING STATS

Head to Head
Porto 2, Arsenal 0
Arsenal 4, Porto 0
Porto 0, Arsenal 0
Arsenal 2, Porto 0

Match Prices:
FC Porto to win: 17/10 at Paddy Power
Draw: 9/4 at Bet365
Arsenal to win: 15/8 at SkyBet

Asian Handicap Betting Advice: Put these two teams together on paper, and you would probably back Arsenal nine times out of ten in the contest. Arsenal are having their problems with injuries this season, but they still managed a great run of form that kept them in touch with Manchester United and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. This one is a tough call, as Porto do have a reputation for pulling out good European nights on home turf.
Arsenal +0.5 Asian Handicap is 1/2 at Bet365