Champions League Match Centre: Arsenal 5-0 Porto

Match Recap

“It is never perfect but it was a very good, very strong performance. Our first half was excellent and then after a bit of a struggle at the start of the second half, Samir Nasri’s brilliant goal settled us down and we were comfortable winners.” - Arsene Wenger

Arsenal have overcome the odds and have booked a place for themselves in the quarterfinals. Nicklas Bendtner will make all the headlines as the hat-trick hero, but in all honesty it was a superb performance from the eleven men wearing the red jerseys tonight. Going into the game a goal down on aggregate, Arsenal claimed a 5-0 victory and the match-up finished 6-2 on aggregate. Arsene Wenger can only be overjoyed as his side, playing without their captain Cesc Fabregas, truly put on a show in North London tonight.

Samir Nasri had an individual effort that even Maradona would be proud of, as the Frenchman made it 3-0 by slicing through four Porto defenders in the 62nd minute. Just two and a half minutes later, Emmanuel Eboue made it 4-0 and made the Emirates erupt by rounding Helton (who was actually top-class tonight) and placing the ball into the back of the net.

Full Time. Arsenal win 5-0 over Porto.

90+1º Goal! Arsenal 5-0 Porto. Nicklas Bendtner steps up to take. And he grabs his hat-trick by placing his penalty perfectly to the left of Helton, who guessed correctly.

90º Porto fans look incredibly frustrated, as they should be. Fucile gives Arsenal a penalty by rolling over Eboue. Bendtner to take.

86º Walcott doesn’t really look like he has his usual pace tonight, not that it matters at all.

84º Bendtner just misses his hat-trick with an acrobatic header, meeting Sagna’s quality cross. I think there’s still a goal left in this one.

81º Falcao trying to split four Arsenal defenders, but Vermaelen steps in and stops the Colombian international. We can’t all be like Samir Nasri.

79º About 10 minutes left for Arsenal to enjoy. Walcott paces down the right flank and forces Alvaro to make an excellent tackle to concede yet another Arsenal corner.

77º One touch passing by Arsenal, and Walcott tries an effort from 30 yards out. The shot looked to be going on target, but it deflected out for a corner.

76º Arsenal subsitution: Arshavin off, Theo Walcott on. Porto double substitution: Varela and Ruben Micael are off, Gonzalez and Guarin are on.

73º Arshavin glides down the left flank once again and cheekily flicks a cross at the far post for Sagna. Sagna, though in space, tries a first time volley which was absolutely atrocious. But he won’t mind as a huge grin comes on the Frenchman’s face.

72º There are still 20 minutes in this one. Arsenal substitution: Samir Nasri off, Denilson on. Samir Nasri could very well be the Man of the Match.

69º Even at 4-0 up Arsenal’s defence remains rock solid. Thomas Vermaelen has been nothing but superb tonight, as he makes yet another diving tackle to block a Porto shot.

68º Falcao throws himself at Raul Meireles’ cross, but his effort goes over the bar. Arsenal are really enjoying themselves at the moment. The fans and the supporters, that is. Even Arsene Wenger has shown a wry smile.

65º Goal! Arsenal 4-0 Porto! Arsenal counter off of a Porto corner as Arshavin goes on a 50 yard run, then slips Eboue in. Emmanuel Eboue then rounds the keeper and places the ball in the back of the net. Game. Set. Match. Arsenal are surely into the Quarterfinals.

62º Goal! Arsenal 3 - 0 Porto! What a goal that is! What a goal! Samir Nasri goes on a sensational run to evade four Porto defenders and find space inside the Porto area. And his shot wasn’t bad either as he smacks it off of the far post and in. Porto now need to score twice to survive, which seems like too much to ask at the moment. I’m still stunned by that goal, it was truly a wonderful bit of creativity.

61º Porto’s corner meets Bruno Alves’ head, who nods a powerful effort at the Arsenal goal, but Nasri is there at the far post to get his body in front of it. Best chance for Porto thus far.

59º Sagna suffers a tough challenge from Alvaro Pereira, and Alvaro is booked.

58º Arsenal substitution: Tomas Rosicky off, Emmanuel Eboue on.

57º Nasri’s freekick falls to Arshavin after a Porto clearance, and the Russian hits a half-volley straight at Helton. Helton gets a hand on it, and Bendtner pounces on the rebound, but it turns out that he was offside.

55º Falcao hits a powerful shot at Almunia, and the Spanish keeper gets up quickly to pick up the pieces and dive on top of the ball.

54º Alex Song leads the Arsenal counter-attack, and the Cameroonian’s effort is well held by Helton.

53º Hulk finds himself in a bit of space, and tries to hit a scorcher from 30 yards out. High and wide…

52º Sol Campbell got away with one there as he took out Falcao. No call from the ref.

50º Raul Meireles tries his luck from 35 yards out, but his effort goes wayyyy over the bar.

47º Arsenal win a corner early on here. Helton, again, punches away brilliantly.

We’re off again.

The players are back on the pitch and we have another 45 minutes (at least) to decide who will advance to the Champions League Quarterfinals!

Halftime. Arsenal 2-0 Porto.

Well, if you had told Arsene Wenger that he could go into the half with a 2-0 lead, he certainly would have taken it. That being said, Arsenal fully deserve their lead and there were further chances to completely finish this game off. Porto just need a goal to get right back in this game, even though Nicklas Bendtner’s brace has given the Gunners a firm advantage. If Porto do strike, expect it to be from Falcao or Hulk, as they have looked the most dangerous. Andrei Arshavin has been Arsenal’s best player thus far, setting up chance after chance, but then again the entire Arsenal squad looks up for it tonight.

45+3º Porto should be proud of their keeper, as Helton has kept this one from being 3, 4, or 5-nil. He just made another excellent save to parry away Nasri’s low, near-post effort.

45+2º Arsenal counter, and Arshavin’s slippery run wins the Gunners another corner. The Arsenal faithful are currently chanting “Ole!”

45º Three minutes of added time. Can Porto pull one back in the closing minutes? They’re really going for it.

44º Nicklas Bendtner is shown a yellow card for a reckless two-footed tackle on Rolando.

43º Arshavin plays it to Bendtner, who tries to get his hat-trick with a curler from 25 yards out. Arsenal corner. Abou Diaby’s header hits the post, and is pushed away from Helton.

41º Hulk puts a few skills on Clichy, but Frenchman recovers to block his cross.

38º Vermaelen is shown a yellow card for a clumsy tackle on Falcao. The ensuing freekick falls to Hulk, who surges down the right flank as Clichy fails to clear. Hulk toe pokes an effort straight at Almunia, who does well to hold onto the Brazilian’s effort.

36º Raul Meireles wins a pair of corners for Porto, but the Arsenal defence holds strong.

34º Nasri sets up Arshavin perfectly, and the Russian winger really should have ended the game right then and there from 12 yards out. Arshavin’s first time effort goes over the bar, and Arsene Wenger looks disgusted. To be fair, Arshavin has had a perfect game up until this point.

33º Hulk tries to capitalize on Almunia’s poor clearance, but the Brazilian’s speculative effort goes wide.

31º Varela shows his pace with a 60 yard run, but his effort is wasted as his cross rolls over the endline for an Arsenal goal kick.

28º Porto need to keep their composure, as they give away an Arsenal freekick at the edge of the area. Arshavin’s curler almost catches Helton off-guard, but the Porto keeper did well.

26º Goal! Arsenal 2-0 Porto! An absolutely stunning run from Andrey Arshavin to set up Bendtner for his second! Really poor defending that the sneaky Russian took full advantage of. Porto have themselves in a hole now as the aggregate stands at 3-2 Arsenal.

24º Falcao is shown a yellow card for a bad tackle on Alex Song. Sol Campbell and Thomas Vermaelen rush to the referee to complain about the tackle. They clearly are still feeling the effects of that tackle on Aaron Ramsey.

22º Arshavin’s low cross is just asking to be knocked in, but Bendtner’s sliding effort misses the ball completely. This one still entirely up in the air.

20º Varela wins a corner for Porto, and they take it quickly. Almunia makes an acrobatic punch to get rid of the danger.

18º Falcao is taken down by Sol Campbell, and the referee rightfully gives the “old man” a talking to.

17º Porto’s defence is struggling at the moment, as they concede a corner. Nasri swings the corner in and Diaby tries to guide the ball in with an awkward volley.

16º Arsenal are on the backfoot as they continue to fail to make proper clearances.

15º Vermaelen does well to block Hulk’s powerful effort. Porto have won a corner.

13º Helton looks shaken it up a bit, as he went down injured after the goal. I think he was just disappointed, he’s fine.

10º Goal!!! Arsenal 1 - 0 Porto!!! Arshavin rushes onto Nasri’s perfectly weighted through ball, and Nicklas Bendtner picks up the pieces and places the ball into Porto’s empty net. We’re now tied on aggregate at 2-2, and Arsenal have the advantage because of their away goal. Quite simply, the Emirates has been set alight.

8º Arshavin’s header forces a world-class save from Helton, as Sagna’s cross met the little Russian’s head perfectly at the far post.

7º Golden chance for Nasri! A nice exchange between Rosicky and Nasri, and the Frenchman hits a half volley from 6 yards out. The shot was blocked, but still, Arsenal are pushing forward with purpose.

5º Porto’s keeper clears Arshavin’s teasing freekick well, and now Sagna goes down injured. He was at full-stretch when he collided with Fucile. He’ll be fine though.

4º Well, Arsenal are up for it. Clichy and Song showing their class early on. Arshavin finds himself with a freekick from 35 yards out.

3º Clichy provides a great cross for Bendtner, but the Danish striker completely misses the header.

1º Porto coming out with all their guns in the opening minute, they won’t be too defensive-minded tonight.

And we’re off! 90 Minutes of the Beautiful Game at its Best!

A clear, crisp, cold night here in London as both sides walk out to the ever-epic Champions League theme song.

Pregame Analysis

Expect an upbeat, exciting match at the Emirates tonight as both sides go out with 4-3-3 formations. Porto go into this with the advantage as they won 2-1 in Portugal, but Sol Campbell’s away goal could be very useful for the Gunners as just a 1-0 victory will send Arsene Wenger’s men through. Arsenal are without their invaluable captain, Cesc Fabregas, but Samir Nasri, Alex Song, and Abou Diaby are set to run the Arsenal midfield. Falcao and Hulk are the men to watch for Porto tonight, as another goal from them could very well send Porto through.

Line-ups

Arsenal: (4-3-3) Almunia (captain), Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy, Nasri, Song, Diaby, Rosicky, Bendtner, Arshavin.

Subs: Fabianski, Eduardo, Walcott, Denilson, Silvestre, Eboue, Traore.

FC Porto: (4-3-3) Helton, Fucile, Rolando, Bruno Alves (captain), Pereira, Ruben Micael, Coelho, Raul Meireles, Varela, Falcao, Hulk.

Subs: Nuno, Guarin, Belluschi, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Maicon, Miguel Lopes.

Hello all! We’ll be live blogging the Arsenal - Porto tie tonight!

To see our comprehensive matchday preview, check out Dominic Vieira’s wonderful piece analyzing the two matches at hand tonight. Will Arsenal turn the tables on Porto, and overcome their 2-1 deficit on aggregate or will the Portuguese side prove their class once again and advance to the Champions League Quarterfinals?