What To Expect From Arsenal Against Porto in the Champions League

Next Wednesday, Arsenal continue their UEFA Champions League campaign, playing against Porto in the famous Estadio do Dragao.

The Dragon stadium, known to be one of the hardest stadium to play in for English teams, a fact proven by the record books, Manchester United was the only English team to get a victory in the knockout stages there last year, and it was no easy task.

Arsenal should not get careless, for in 2004, Manchester United played against Porto in the Estadio Do Dragao and lost the match, eventually getting knocked out in the return leg.

Arsenal fans will be relieved by the fact that Samir Nasri was not heavily injured in the Liverpool game, but will be disappointed by the news of potential injuries to Arshavin and Song.

Arsene Wenger said that they will have scans for both players, and that they will decide whether they will be part of the game or not.

Arsenal will need to come back with a result, and should try hard to kill the game off at the Dragao stadium, because even a draw there would give the Gunners a very difficult return leg, and with the few missing players from the squad, such as Eduardo and Van Persie, and the possible injuries by Song and Arshavin, the return leg might be a harder game, especially if the Gunners concede in the return leg.

Arsenal will most likely start Nicklas Bendtner, who has been in decent form since returning from injury, troubling defenders with his presence and giving Arsenal the physical edge they lacked when they had Arshavin placed as a centre forward.

Arsenal will most likely be pressured during the opening minutes of the match, and will have to play a physical game against a physical Porto side.

Gallas and Vermaelen will have to be wary when facing Hulk, possibly the biggest threat that the Arsenal defence will face, and should be cautious with their off-the-ball runs, especially with Porto's tendency to cross the ball, which would prove troubling to Arsenal on the counter attack.

With the win over Liverpool in the last game, the Gunners have built enough confidence to go to Portugal with a strong mentality, which will be needed if the Arsenal players want to keep their composure against the Porto fans, who will definitely fill the stadium come Wednesday.

Porto might have the higher ground, due to the fact that they get more chances to rest their players before Champions League games, something Porto has done in the past, but Arsenal should still be able to achieve a resut, as long as they don't fall to pressure and make the same defensive mistakes they did in past games.

Should Arsenal advance to the next round, the biggest trick for Wenger will be when to rest his players, and who to rest.

Balancing the team perfectly would give Arsenal a bigger chance to compete in both the league and the Champions league, where the Gunners currently have a chance in both competitions.

Consistency and balance will be the Gunners' hardest task for the remainder of the season, but should they pull through, then Arsenal might have a trophy at the end of the season as a reward for their efforts.