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Mikel Arteta and his team are entering uncharted territory, but the knockout stage of the Champions League does not scare Arsenal.
The Gunners are flying at the moment and head into the first leg of the round of 16 against Porto after a 5-0 loss to Burnley and five wins in the Premier League.
They’ve scored 21 in that run and came here to Portugal full of confidence.
At the start of the season, there were some who thought Arsenal would struggle in the Champions League, given their lack of experience at the top of the European table.
It is Arteta’s first time having been successful in the competition, as 11 members of his squad had played at this point before this season.
But Arsenal crowned their organisation with one game to spare and are the third, according to bookmakers, to win the trophy at Wembley on June 1.
Beyond Manchester City and Real Madrid, the Gunners are keen to try their luck against anyone still in the competition. Bayern Munich are in crisis, Paris Saint-Germain are in transition as they prepare for life after Kylian Mbappe and the champions of Spain and Italy (Barcelona and Napoli) endured nightmare seasons. Add to that the fact that Liverpool are in the Europa League, and it’s easy to see why Arsenal are seen across Europe as a real contender, especially if the draw is in their favour. .
Arsenal were presented with a winnable circle of 16 against Porto, third in the Portuguese league and seven points leader Benfica.
It was at this point that Arsenal would part ways towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
The Gunners are aiming for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010. They were beaten in the round of 16 seven times in a row between 2011 and 2017 and qualified for the Champions League this season.
Only Mohamed Elneny remains from the team that lost 10-2 to Bayern Munich in 2017 and Arteta insists history “doesn’t matter”.
Arsenal have evolved this season into a team with a new defensive solidity and control, for knockout football.
They have the defence in the Premier League, they take fewer shots and concede fewer chances.
Added to this security, Arsenal are a damaging team in the long run if given space on the counter.
Rival groups in the Premier League tend to stay on the sidelines in an attempt to thwart them, however, in Europe this season the situation has been different. Wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli failed to score twice and feasted on more space.
Saka is in wonderful form and will be key. He has six goals in five games since the mid-season winter break, which happens to have done wonders for him.
Arteta has done a job since arriving at Arsenal in 2019, guiding them to FA Cup glory in 2020 and turning them into big-name contenders.
But in Europe it has not yet been a great success. For 3 seasons in the Europa League, Arsenal never won a knockout match at home, despite reaching the semi-finals in 2021.
Arteta is under pressure to make the call-ups tonight, and his biggest resolve is in attack.
Their defence is improving, with calf injuries to Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior expected to continue at left-back.
But in attack, Arteta faces a dilemma. Leandro Trossard inspired like a fake in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, who is suffering from a knee problem.
However, Arteta could be tempted to deploy Kai Havertz as a target to give Arsenal a way out.
Havertz has fond memories of the Estadio do Dragao, having scored Chelsea’s winning goal there in the Champions League final against Manchester City in 2021.
Wherever he plays, the German will play a key role if Arsenal are looking to achieve their European dream this season.