Arsène Wenger will have a patch-work crew for today's match at the Dragão. (Photo: ZumaPress)
Where once the Dragão in Porto was considered a fortress against English invasion, FC Porto has lost their last two home fixtures against English opposition. Manchester United came to Portugal last season and get a result in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie, while Chelsea had similar success in group stage this season.
Now Arsenal makes the trip to Iberia with pressures lying between those faced by Manchester United and Chelsea. For United, it was a must-win match against a team that had scored two goals in the first leg at Old Trafford. For Chelsea, is was a group stage match where both sides had already cast eyes towards the knock-out round.
Arsenal doesn’t need to win today; rather, they just need to keep the tie manageable ahead of their March 9, second leg at the Emirates.
In trying to do so, Arsenal will have their typical litany of injured players. Robin van Persie has been out with a long-term ankle injury, an absence that has derailed their domestic title quest. Today, Arsenal will also be without Andrei Arshavin, William Gallas and Manuel Almunia who, along with Cesc Fabregas, form the current spine of the team.
In addition, Arsène Wenger will be without Eduardo and Alexander Song.
So who’s left?
At the back, Lukasz Fabianski will start in goal, with a likely back-line of (left to right) Gael Clichy, Thomas Vermaelen, Sol Campbell and Bacary Sagna.
Yes, Sol Campbell.
In midfielder, Fabregas could be joined by Abu Diaby and Denilson, while the attack triad would be Nicklas Bendtner, Tomas Rosicky, and Samir Nasri.
That is still a capable side, but against a Champions League-seasoned side like Porto, it could also lead to Arsenal being a bit more conscious of containing the score.
People will remember this Porto side from their close-call against Manchester United last season, or their 2003-04 run to this tournament’s title, the last time a team outside Spain, England, or Italy won this competition. But this team is decidedly different – weaker, even – after a summer that saw them lose Lisandro López, Lucho González, and Aly Cissohko.
In league, Porto is on the brink of losing their first Liga Sagres title in six years, unable to keep-up with high-flying Benfica and stalwarts Braga.
In Champions League, Porto’s chance to win their group faded when they lost to Chelsea, 1-0 at the Dragão, in a match that previous iterations of this club would have won.
Porto remains very talented, with players like Bruno Alves, Raul Miereles, Cristian Rodríguez, and Hulk, though the key to their season, for better or worse, has been the summer acquisition of Radamel Falcão from River Plate.
The Colombian international has been (arguably) Porto’s best player, though Jesualdo Ferreira had trouble integrating him into a team which, having sold López, was planning on building their attacking three around Hulk. But while Falcão had forced his way into that picture, he and Hulk have not complemented each other as well as Porto would have hoped, with the playing styles of the two strikers forcing Porto to sacrifice some of the width that made them so dangerous against other European sides.
Ferreira went through a time (early) when Falcão came off the bench. When he couldn’t justify that any longer, he tried playing Hulk in a wider role, with limited results.
Right now the status of the pair is unclear, with the duo having not played together since Porto lost at Benfica (1-0) last month.
With Cristian Rodríguez also set to miss this match, the prevailing question seems whether Porto have the capability of taking advantage of Fabianski and Campbell. If they do, do they have the ability to post the type of multi-goal win that would make them favorites to win after the return leg at the Emirates.
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