Arsenal vs Porto preview: Next test is to win without Cesc, plus favourite line-up
Speaking to The Times in a recent interview, Thierry Henry said that it is amazing what Arsenal have done this season, that is, still fighting for the Premiership despite missing Robin van Persie for months. Which is true, but as if that and Aaron Ramsey’s injury are not enough, we now have a new mountain to climb as we have to face Porto in tomorrow’s Champions League game without captain Cesc Fabregas.
It comes natural to say Aaron should be the one to replace Cesc but of course, the Welshman is not available, and will not be for a long time. Having said that, Abou Diaby did really well on Saturday against Burnley so hopefully we will not miss the captain as much as I fear.
Porto
They were in an amazing unbeaten run when we played them 15 days ago but in their last two games, they first lost against Braga and last weekend they needed a 94th minute equaliser to get a point against Olhanense. Before the 1st leg, I said they are nothing special and in all honesty, they didn’t impress me even if they managed to beat us at the Dragão so I am optimistic ahead of tomorrow’s game, although it will not be easy, that’s for sure.
Favourite line-up
Alex Song, Abou Diaby, Sol Campbell and Andrey Arshavin should all be back after missing out or starting on the bench the Burnley game. Alex will of course take his usual holding midfielder role and with Cesc absent, I believe Samir will keep his central role in midfield.
Eboue – Vermaelen – Campbell – Clichy
Song
Walcott – Diaby – Nasri – Arshavin
Bendtner
I am not including Bacary Sagna in the line-up because I would personally stick with Emmanuel as right back and Theo in the more advanced midfield position but if Bacary starts then easy will not be for Arsene to decide between Emmanuel or Theo – they are both on fire and both deserving to start.
Pre-match Interviews
Porto will not park the bus. At least this is what midfielder Raul Meireles declared before the game. It’s not in Porto’s mentality to be defensive, he said, adding how they have to stop Cesc Febregas, a job which will be much easier for them, considering the Spaniard is ruled out.
Meireles said:
We will not be ultra-defensive in London. That’s not our style and to try to play that way would be a disaster for us. Arsenal are a dangerous team in attack and to give them the ball would cause chaos for us.
The big battle will be in midfield. We must stop Cesc Fabregas but also the other men in that area. I’m optimistic and our squad have the confidence and belief that we will reach the last eight.
Arsene Wenger said the Gunners will not easily forget the Aaron Ramsey accident although of course, they now have to focus on what lies ahead. Speaking before the game, the Frenchman added how the 19-year old is another reason for Arsenal to do well in these last months of the season.
He said:
We will never forget that accident. But we will just focus on what is important for us. It is another reason for us to do well.
I felt in terms of the commitment there was something still there [against Burnley], maybe it was because the game came after an international game and in the first half there was a lack of focus but I think that has gone now.
The Gunning Hawk Coverage
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If Porto plays as they did on our last game I see no reason why we shouldn’t win. There’s no way we can make the same mistakes we did that day again. I actually expect a comfortable win (:
i feel we will win the match.but with bentner in front it will be difficult.bentner is nt a wise striker he is nt good.so i feel vela is in d best place 2 play the game.
Well! It won’t be that difficult! But it won’t be easy! Let’s remember that they have never won in England! As for the line-up, I would put first Vela or Rosicky before than Arshaviin, he could be a good change! Adiooos Amigos! We’ll talk tomorrow! Hello from Mexico!
did you ever see that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine gets in trouble at her job at pendant publishing for putting way to many exclamation points in the stories she edited? you should check it out, its hilarious. arsenal all the way
Can’t fault that line-up. Diaby is on form and has his chance to be the ‘general’. Arshavin showed on Sat that he can be a team player and an international stage will suit him. David is right; we couldn’t make those silly mistakes again – and Bendtner couldn’t miss so many of Walcott’s crosses. I just hope everyone has recovered well after Sat and that our fitness will be superior, especially in the second half of second half. Best of all is that we start fast and positive and that we produce many shots on target. Get the first goal within 15 mins and we can all sing and enjoy. We need a very noisy twelfth man so get behind the team everyone.
yeah that is the right team walcott is buzzing at the moment and its good to play him in this game, if it dose not work i would change it after half time an play rosiky in the middle of the midfield and put nasri up top on the right for walcott if we still have not scored take of clichy song drop offdiaby back one and bring on vela and troure last resort .
If we have to Cesc on the pitch to feel confident of a win it’s a very sad state of affairs!!!
First of all it was …we’ll struggle without Van Persie.
When Song was out at the Africa Cup of Nations it was…we’ll struggle without Song.
Now it’s Cesc.
Porto don’t travel well & they wer’nt that great at home in the first leg, but we’ll still need to turn up as a team.
Really agree with your line-up Chris, except i would prefer seeing Sagna before Eboue. At least in this match. We need someone defensively solid defending against Hulk and Varela. I hope so much that Theo have a brilliant game as the last one!!!
Come on you gunners!!!
And by the way, Im not worried about not having Cesc on the pitch. Diaby will fill in just fine as he always does.
sagna is not stronger then eboue he looks it but he is not , that winger who was playing on the right wing for parto last time mess up sagna and clichy .sagna needs to get hes form back.
agree with the line up.but feel eduardo should be given a start ahead of bendtner,because it is really important for us to score goals, i guess it cant be achieved wid bendtner!!
That line-up is spot but i would put sagna in place of eboue because of his defensive qualities.
Up Gunners,dat wil b d talk after 2mo rrow match cos My small but mighty and yori yori boyz will beat porto by 2.nil and i wish cesc fast recovery and also my luvly Van perse and also a very gud line up by u.
Arsenal will come out victorous no matter how hard the game will be.
I think rosicky will play in place of walcott because…
1) walcott needs someone to give him the killer passes behind the opposition’s back-line when he makes his runs. without cesc he will not get as many and as good balls there. i’m not saying nasri is uncapable of doing it but he is different kind of playmaker, he likes to dribble more with the ball.
2) it will be probably sagna as a right back and he is not as offensive player as eboue and walcott might lack the support on the flank what he really needs. it might turn out to be another frustrating game for walcott and arsenal fans if he doesn’t get the needed support from the right-back.
3) rosicky will bring some extra creativity in the absence of cesc and he really combines very well with nasri.
I am feeling optimistic on this one.Sounds like a good line up to me.eboue and walcott really give a different dimension to our attack.They give more thrust to the attack and are more direct and will be especially very useful in europe…walcott is gettiong his confidence back which is great…the european defences won’t be able to deal with him if he is on form..remember milan…and the champions league assist aginst liverpool.There will be a phase when we will totally dominate….15-20 mins in each half and we MUST take the opportunities when provided…let’s hope bendtner doesn’t fluff any more…arshavin will give us more pedigree up frontas well.2–0 to the Arsenal.Let’s get behind the boys at the stadium…I think we all smell a trophy.
If Bendtner plays then we are doomed, lazy, useless, cumbersome oaf…sell him to Tottenham!
we should sell you to Tottenham. You are true supporter..
one rule, no matter how dumb the player is, you don’t sell him to tottenham!!!
I’ll look for you on this blog @Tim coz B52 will be sure to prove you wrong tonight!!
lol. u r absolutly right.
Id like to see him try eboue in the middle again. Maybe not in this game but he seems to have all the attributes to be a good box-to-box midfielder. He could be excellent cover for song and diaby.
Mate i feel this game the favourite & the likely line ups pretty the same … I would only change the formation to 4-2-1-3 (or 2-1) with Song & Diaby at the back MD Nasri more advanced, Theo & AA at the scary-speedy wings & big Nik upfront.
Even without the big hit-man of our season, we are still capable of cruising past Porto.
It is going to be comprehensive I feel. Probably 3-1 with 3-0 margin at some stage or just a clean 3-0. Bendtner to redeem his wasted efforts, Walcott will continue to fire & Nasri to be rewarded for his latest efforts & filling the big boots of our captain.
Go on gunners!!!
id pllay eduardo instead of walcott,theo coming on fresh with half an hour to go will result in goals,plus if eduardo has 1 of the chances like b52 had saturday it could be over by half time,i dont feel nervous about the match at all which is a bad thing,the last time i was this relaxed before a champions league knockout game we played psv at the emirates,:(
@ chris
I like your line up but for the sake of friction I’d prefer a 442. Same guys, but I’d like to see theo in front of goal and on the last defender.
al
eboue, sol, thomas, gael
nasri, diaby, song, rosicky
theo, bendtner
that said, i’d have to agree nasri is absolutely excellent in the middle.
I think we should be looking to qualify. It is important for us financialy we may be doing ok but extra money is always welcome. I think it is also important for arsenal to be up there and doing well in europe. It realy is a bench mark and its great for the club to be in the top 8 or preferably top 4 or 2. It looks great it is great for the players and club. It is something to be proud of. I would realy like back toback semi finals. This gives us more money and a better chance of retaining our best players aswell as attracting more players. So I would be dreadfully dissapointed.
Not to mention besides Man city (home) and Tottenham(away) we don’t have a lot to focus on. Our squad is slowly recovering and we realy do have enough quality players to beat the teams coming our way. We can rest and rotate quite effectively and have enough attacking power to dispatch teams like hull without to much difficulty. I think it would be best for the club if we fight on two fronts.
I wouldn’t be disappointed with a 3-2. Win the match, go out, concentrate on the league.
Games in the CL are interesting but the competition itself doesn’t thrill me. When seeding is involved in a competition it favours the 2 or 3 top seeds giving them the easier ride to the final.
a 3-2 score means porto going through on away goals. You SHOULD be dissapointed
come oonnnnn!!! beeing eliminated by PORTO is a great dissapointment!!!!
Do some of us hav short memories or even amnesia.same Bentner who score d winner against Sunderland,scored d equaliser against Stoke & even won us the winning penalty at Stoke,is been called useless this week?unbelivable.
As 4 line up,just replace AA wit Rosicky & Sagna replacing Eboue frm ur line up.
4-0 Arsenal.
i say that line up is perfect; we need eboue there instead of sagna; eboue is explosive and a very good right back; in my opinion a better right back than sagna; especially attacking; we need to score in the first half; we should start with eboue and bring him off if we have a 2-0 lead; i am sure he will have plenty of the ball; very explosive runs; great crosses and if he has a good game; he will have a great say in putting the gunners through to the next round; COME ON ARSENAL AND EBOUE- MAKE ME PROUD
wenger dont play denilson nor silvestre in this game- plz plz plz 2 players which are a liability to arsenal and if they have any say in the game tomoz; it will be anegative!!! but im going to think positively and i say we go for it!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!arsenal fans/brothers and sisters plz scream ur hearts off tomoz bcoz you guys will be the twelveth man in our team; i will b screaming from my sitting room!! 
i have just been watching the liverpool v wigan game i think i have found the problem solver in our mid mo diemae if that is how u spell it i know this has nothing to do with this site but this guy look like avery good player he is tall can takel is strong and can pass on he can head the ball what more do we want go on wenger take a look at this lad he dose look well good
I wish I could share everyone’s confidence on a formality victory but I do not. This is going to be a real tough one! Meireles says that Porto will not be defensive!!! Ha!!!
Believe that if you like!!! Does he mean by ‘not’ being defensive that he is going to close down the midfield and hit Arsenal on the break? Sounds like a plan!!!!!!!
I have never yet heard a manager say that they would ever play defensively! Instead they will say that
‘we battled hard in midfield and did not allow them to create chances’.
What nonsense!!!!!!
This team in the first leg were a fairly physical team with a dangerous striker and a character called ‘Hulk’ who is big, strong, fast, and bulldozes his way in from the right!!!
Arsenal are not exactly a team that has built it’s reputation on consistently avoiding to make defensive errors!!!! Remember the last game!!!
One more of those and they are in real trouble!!! Sagna Campbell and Song are ‘musts’ in my opinion. Eboue is important too but they have to get him to run at the penalty area from out on the right. Walcott obviously, also Nasri has earned it.
Bendtner might be critical here, especially from the air if Arsenal cannot get into the box on the floor.
The player I am concerned about is Eduardo? His confidence seems to have deserted him completely. I am not sure if he is going to make it. I would love to see him start but they have got to get his head back into things soon!!!!
Wake up u gunners, ur line up is OK. Bendtner disappointed himself & every arsenal fan on sat. But lets give him another chance and hope he delivers this time. Encouraging our players to SHOOT FROM DISTANCE thats the key to winning matches. GUNNERS TILL I DIE. ONOWU IN ALABA NIG.
well what a shame cesc isn’t gonna play lets just hope that he recovoers for the hull game this saturday.For tomorrow the only thing I’m worried is us not fully concentrating if we fully concentrate then we will bury them. So Im gonna go with an Arsenal 3 – 1 win, conceding just the 1 goal because we can’t keep clean sheets more than 2 games. Heres my line up;
____________________almunia___________________
____sagna____campbell____vermaelen____clichy____
____________________song______________________
____________nasri____________diaby______________
____rosicky________________________arshavin_____
____________________bendtner___________________
subs;___fabianski___eboue___silvestre___traore___denilson___walcott___eduardo___
As for the goal scorers Im going with; bendtner to score first, arshavin and diaby to follow. With us conceding a stupid goal.
COME ON ARSENAL LETS SEND PORTO BACK TO PORTUGAL
I love the optimism and I repeat Porto are nothing special, but on the other hand, I don’t honestly think it will be an easy 3-0 or 4-0 win. I think we will qualify, but will suffer tomorrow.
Right on! Porto are battlers from beginning to end and it’s not going to be a walk in the park and it’s refreshing to see that many gunners have now faith in the team with or without Captain Fab.
The team is starting to click at the right time which is exactly what we need. Plus a CL game is also the right prescription for the home crowd to start roaring and make the Grove the hell pit it should be for our opponents.
——————————-almunia————————————–
sagna————campbell———–vermaelen———-clichy
———————————–song————————————
walcott—————-nasri————diaby————–arshavin
———————————bendtner———————————
I think arsenal will win 3-0 or 4-1, we were better than them in porto and we were without arshavin, diaby, song, almunia and we still controled the game there, I think we should have no problems dealing with porto tomorow
I am not too too concerned about Fabregas, yes he is an important player but, a team cannot win things if they rely on only one player. I expect who ever comes in to be effective, and to create chances. That is his job!!!
All the Arsenal players have creative talent so Fabregas out is not an excuse. It would be the same if he played and was not on form, someone else has to step up!!! Fabregas is very consistent yes!! so the other midfielders should be stepping up and competing with him for assists and goals too!!!!
I am concerned about Porto. They have a couple of fast physical strikers who are ideal for hitting on the break, they are physical and can tackle hard and defend well. Arsenal have had problems with the counter punch in the not too distant past!!!! So be warned!!! Arsenal also are error pronned in defense! so just one mistake and then it is big trouble!!!
I will say it again, I am not too wild about Clichy, he is fine when the enemy do not have a quality right flank forward but, when they do and Clichy is there!!!!!!! Yikes!!!!!!!
Arsenal must get forward and score early!
Bendtner could be vital because of his size and aerial ability, especially if Arsenal cannot get into the penalty area on the floor!!!
now…what would wenger do….”another new talent in the making…”…so lame..
I think what everybody is forgetting is that we have alex song back who is just gonna sit in front of the defense and just wait to break up the play. Having song, diaby and nasri all in the middle will just be too much for porto believe me, strength pace and vision, plus on top of that we have arshavin and rosicky both on the wings with bendtners presence up front. Honestly I don’t know why too many fans are seriously nervous or worried, vermaelen can hold on to hulk, while clichy can concentrate on their right winger varela. Plus to top that we can bring on walcott, eboue and eduardo in the second half to add more pace. Also how dangerous will we be at set pieces with campbell, diaby, bendtner and vermaelen too, come on guys.
A little tricky I will admit tomorrows game but a comfortable win for us 3 -1 Arsenal!
agreed…I believe we will have no problem as long as we score first and control the game from there.
Rosicky and Sagna will both start. And they’ve played a 4-3-3 all season, there has never been a change of system to a 4-1-4-1.
Almunia
Sagna Campbell Verminator Clichy
Song
Rosicky Diaby
Nasri Arshavin
Bendtner
Arsenal to win 3 – 0. C’mon you Gunners!!
We seem to be getting more options each week which is fantastic. It is a shame to lose cesc but I believe we will be ok. Cesec adds a different dimension and gives us more of a boost when playing narrow. I think the key for tommorow will be to play very wide and provide good quality into the box. With Diaby, Arshavin and Eduardo back from injury I don’t know wether to be cautios.
First of all conceding is something we need to avoid at all costs so my vote is for a more defensive line up with Arshavin, Rosicky, Eboue and Eduardo to maybe come from the bench.
———————-Almunia—————————
Sagna——–Sol——Vermaelen——–Clichy-
————–Denilson—-Song———————–
———————–Nasri——————————
Walcott———————————–Diaby——
———————-Bendtner————————-
I am confident that without cesc we can do the job. A repeat of the 4 – 0 score line fro last year would be great but would like to see a tidy 2 – 0. Ofcourse Rosicky, Eboue, Arshavin, Eduardo 3 will hopefully get a run and start against hull.
Messi you are right Song will make a difference. So to will Sagna, and Sol I hope. On paper we should have too much for them you are right on that too!
I just can’t help being a little nervous because of the catastrophe’s that occurred last time for a start. Also because they have had a couple of disappointing results since then, usually when a team experiences that they come in more determined to focus and put things right so beware the ides of March!!!!
Porto will make it very difficult for Arsenal. They know full well they got out of jail last time so they will be extra eager to punish Arsenal for the mistakes of the last meet.
Arsenal will win in a canter or else this is going to be a nail biter!!!!
I hope Eduardo starts, he really needs a confidence boost and a goal against these guys would do it for him
I really agree with ur line up. Eboue is better than Sangna because Eboue can attack more than Sagna. And they say the best defence is to attack. We hav more player than the first leg. So, we should turn the table around. Up gooners!!!
i hope that match for today is very difficult but we have one issue to do every plays of asernal must to know this is chance to continoue uefa champions.
———————-Almunia—————————
eboue——–Sol——Vermaelen——–Clichy-
————–Denilson—-Song———————–
———————–Nasri——————————
Walcott———————————–Diaby——
———————-eduardo————————-
ilove you asernal so much hi all we can support asenal in the world
my name tulizo nchimbi dar es salaam 0752-276031 for infomation
I WISH YOU GOOD MATCH ASERNAL FC PORTO
Arsenal is going to have a great battle and it will be a close one for Arsenal. I would also like to see Eduardo, Denilson, and Vela play but we all know that the injuries are still present. I think Vela is going to get his 10 minute playing time. Arsenal 2 Porto 0.
enough of this carlos vela banter already. if he was the best(or 2nd 3 rd or 4th) option we would surly be seeing him more often. do you all really think wenger dosent know better than us about carlos vela? every time i read somethin about the arsenal sumbody always has to say how great vela is. the fact is is that we have 5 or 6 carlos velas in the squad and at the present time, hes not the best option. enough of this crap. support the team that wenger fields and lets win something. vela is not bigger than the arsenal. just typing that sounds funny. arsenal 2 porto nil. tomorow. vermaelin and arsha goals
Carlos Vela is good man, But it’s not like he is a fit Van Persie so i agree with you, lets drop the subject.
Anyway, was winning the league not of that topmost importance, I would have liked to see him against Hull City.
Carlos Vela is an Arsenal player and it’s more than normal to talk about him, especially since according to Wenger, he was the reason why Emmanuel Adebayor was not replaced. I’m not saying we know more than Wenger but it seems Arsene has confused ideas about the Mexican.
Until Theo produces back-to-back performances like Saturday, I keep on saying Carlos is a better player.
Just not British of course.
One thing i really like abt dis arsenal side is not depending on any one player, surely Fab wil be missed but i know nasri will rise 2 d occassion. In dis kind of march early goal is of paramount importance, once we get an early goal then we can relax and play our game and it wil be hard 4 them 2 catch us, if we re not able 2 get it early afta d first 30mins d pressure wil be on us, however with song and diaby in the heat, we should contain any sloppiness, all in all it should be a tactical march, but then, the men on red will have d last laf.
I disagree with you on Bacary Sagna – With the likes of Hulk and Varela interchanging the left side of Porto’s midfield, We will need not an attacking rightback but a very disciplined one – The same goes to the entire defence line.
I would play Sagna if I was Arsene Wenger and then Eboue in a more attacking role although I think Walcott is sure to start.
Nasri is and will always be better than Denilson both defensively and offensively, He should be taking that place.
In Games like this, that’s when Nicklas Bendtner’s true colours come out, for all those who criticized him on Saturday, I think he is the Man to watch tonight.
kkk ok guys lets see what happen to night
____________________almunia____________________
_____abuoe______vermalean______campbell_____clichy
_________________________song__________________
__________________nasri_________diaby____________
___walcott________________________________arshavi__
arsenal is the best
Bendtner
Isn’t hulk suspended? farias and fernando are out injured
those two others are injured yeah, hulk isn’t suspended for champions league games,his only suspended in the portuguese league until april, we need to hold onto him carefully vermaelen will do that or even campbell, but clichy has to be focused.
I JUST WANT US TO GET REVENGE AN I SERIOUSLY CAN NOT WAIT AT ALL!
COME ON ARSENAL!!!
Porto have vowed they will not change their attacking style for Tuesday’s crunch clash with Arsenal. But, for Gunners they need only a goal and make sure not conceded any to proceed.
Arsenal are without key players Fabregas and Van Persie. By looking on the above concerns, it seems not a good idea to support Arsenal but the Gunners have won all the Champion League matches at Emirates stadium. I can see their home spirit and high motivation from London’s supporters. Arsenal will go… with a goal!
I say this seriously…. without Fabregas in the middle Porto won’t know who to mark… who to foul… and I expect to see them get a red card…
Regardless.. even if I am wrong about this one… I am confident in our team… so confident they will fight more than ever… Porto knows very well how lucky they were in Dragao…. and that will lead them to their collapse… Inshallah Arsenal 3 or 4 zero porto.
ALMUNIA is captain today… in my book a good omen…. his morale is going to be great.
——————Almunia———————–
————–Sol—-Vermaelen————–
–Sagna——————————Clichy–
———————Song————————
———-–Diaby————Nasri–
–Rosicky————————–Arshavin——
——————Bendtner———————-
I like this lineup better, Rosicky har been proven much better than Walcott lately. Keep Theo as the joker, like the burnley match.
Let’s hope Wenger sees this lineup and agrees
almunia
ebobuue sol varmalen clishy
song
dyaby nasry
walcot arshavin
eduardo
Remember the days were we will all put Vela on our starting line-up? I liked those days but I think we’ve all come to the conclusion that Vela will probably not start a game for the rest of the season, I think we’ll be lucky if he plays 15min every other game.