Arsenal are bidding to end a record run of seven successive Uefa Champions League round of 16 defeats as they travel to the Estádio do Dragão to take on a Porto side who themselves have not progressed beyond this stage since 2020/21. Catch the action live on SuperSport.
The Gunners, in their first Champions League campaign for seven seasons, lost in the last 16 in every campaign between 2010/11 and 2016/17, their last aggregate victory at this juncture coming at Porto's expense in 2009/10.
Arsenal are in the round of 16 for the 15th time, one more than Porto and behind only Real Madrid (21), Bayern München (20), Barcelona (18) and Chelsea (17). The London club's nine losses at this stage is a Champions League record.
Mikel Arteta's side picked up 13 points in this season's group stage to finish four above runners-up PSV Eindhoven in Group B. Porto managed only one point fewer in Group H but missed out on top spot by virtue of their head-to-head record against Barcelona, who beat them twice.
MATCH FACTS
FC Porto have been eliminated from seven of their eight Uefa Champions League knockout ties against English opposition, with the exception being a round of 16 victory over Manchester United en route to winning the trophy in 2003-04.
Arsenal have won all three of their home Uefa Champions League games against FC Porto by an aggregate score of 11-0, but are winless in all three away games (D1 L2).
The last time Arsenal got past the round of 16 in the Uefa Champions League, they did so by beating FC Porto 6-2 on aggregate in the 2009-10 campaign. Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat-trick at the Emirates for the Gunners in that tie.
Each of the last five teams to eliminate FC Porto from the Uefa Champions League in the knockout rounds of the competition has gone on to reach the final that year – Juventus in 2016-17 (last 16), Liverpool in 2017-18 (last 16) and 2018-19 (quarterfinal), Chelsea in 2020-21 (quarterfinal) and Inter last season (last 16).
Since the round of 16 was introduced in the Uefa Champions League in 2003-04, Arsenal have gone out at this stage more than any other side (9), including in each of their last seven appearances in the competition between 2010-11 and 2016-17. With eight last 16 eliminations, FC Porto are joint-second in this regard.
FC Porto have scored seven goals in their last two Uefa Champions League home games, as many as they had in their previous nine home matches in the competition combined.
Arsenal have scored more first half goals than any other side in the Uefa Champions League this season, with 12 of their 16 strikes coming before halftime. The Gunners have scored in the opening 45 minutes in each of their last 13 Champions League games, the longest such run in European Cup history.
In this year’s Uefa Champions League group stage, only Manchester City (91 per cent) and Real Madrid (89 per cent) had a higher pass completion rate under pressure than Arsenal (86 per cent).
In a run stretching back to November 2018 with Man City, Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus has been involved in 20 goals in his last 18 Uefa Champions League starts (15 goals, 5 assists). He’s been involved in six goals in four starts for the Gunners so far this term (4 goals, 2 assists).
No player has been involved in more Uefa Champions League goals this season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (3 goals, 4 assists), with the young Englishman averaging a goal involvement every 48 minutes in the competition so far.