Big one tonight lads and lasses. It’s a second leg Champions League tie against FC Porto and Arsenal have a one goal deficit that they need to overcome if there is to be more Champions League football played at The Emirates this season. Mikel Arteta and his players know exactly what is needed and they know exactly what they are up against with this FC Porto side. Sergio Conceicao can talk up Porto coming out to attack all he likes, but we know the reality; it’s time to face another Low Block FC, but this one has also got pedigree and quality, along with a mastery of the Dark Arts.

They will fall to the ground at every opportunity. They will leave the boot in where they can. They will complain and moan at the referee if given half a chance. Play acting will happen, timewasting will happen, imaginary yellow cards may well be waved. And we have to be ready.

At the end of the last game the Porto coach said “they came to play football, we came to win”. That tells you all you need to know. It is like to Jose Mourinho playbook was left behind when he exited the Portuguese side for Chelsea; they still have his trademarks and we need to be able to counter it. Arteta even said in his press conference yesterday that Conceicao had “strong words” and whilst he wouldn’t be drawn on whether he was using them in prep for this, you can bet he absolutely will be when he has his pre match team talk just before kick off.

But we shouldn’t be letting the occasion get to us, because that will play in to Porto’s hands and if we have a poor referee like we had at the Dragao, it will give them the impetus they need. Be wary of the counter attacking threat, Arsenal, but be strong enough to do your own thing.

On the team news we again didn’t really get anything from Arteta, with him asserting that there was still another 24 hours to make some decisions, but there were a few of the journo’s that suggested that Tomiyasu was spotted in training so I suspect he’ll be opting for him on the bench today. I doubt he’ll get on the pitch tonight but having him on the bench is a plus point for sure. We do have others back though; Martinelli probably won’t be fit as they rest him again after his cut last week and that means a decision wide left. Does he opt for Trossard again with Havertz up top? Or does he bring in Gabriel Jesus, who absolutely loves this competition, scoring lots of goals over the years for both City and Arsenal?

I do have a sneaky suspicion about Jesus and Zinchenko too for this game tonight, you know. Kiwior has done nothing wrong, but we’re going to see a lot of the ball tonight as Porto tuck in and remain compact, so having him operate in that inverted full back role feels like one that could be beneficial for us. I also think Arsenal have been holding back Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, perhaps even for this game, so we may well see them from the start.

As for the rest of the team, I suspect it picks itself, so I’m thinking we might see:

Raya

White   –   Saliba   –   Gabriel   –   Zinchenko

Jorginho

Odegaard   –   Rice

Saka   –   Havertz   –   Jesus

Of course if Martinelli is fit (which I think most people are suggesting not given he left the Emirates on some precautionary crutches because of the cut he sustained away at Sheffield United) then I wonder if he’ll play too, but at this stage I think he’ll probably miss out and that is why I have that sneaky suspicion about Gabriel Jesus. He hasn’t operated in that position for The Arsenal too many times since joining, as he’s mainly played as a striker or wide right like he did when we played City at home earlier in the season, but he operated wide left for many games as a City player and he will know that position well.

Will the fact we played just 48 hours ago impact us though? It’s a quick turnaround and that might play in to Arteta’s thinking, but not from the start I don’t think. I feel like he may shuffle things around in the second half as players tire, which is why having that strong bench with more first teamers could be all important. If the game is getting on in the second half and the deadlock hasn’t broken, or we are chasing it, then there will need to be some shuffling around for sure. Arteta knows that too. He spoke about how they have discussed internally a couple of things they will do differently, but he also spoke about how we’ve faced situations and opponents like this before in the Premier League, so you can bet what he’s referring too there; Low Block FC. Brentford did it at the weekend. Newcastle seemed to start the extreme low block approach against us last season, then we also had to deal with them a few weeks ago. Palace tried it and started until we scored relatively early and we will see many more teams try it in future. We have to come up with the answers and that lies in an intensity and relentlessness of the Arsenal players from the first minute.

But I think the home crowd will also ensure that this game feels very different too. I think the place will be rocking tonight and I am certainly intending on having very little voice left by the end of it. There will be some light shows at the start but I don’t think the home crowd will need it; we all saw what happened in the Dragao, we all saw how they feigned injury and tried to slow things down. That may have worked in Portugal but the home fans have an opportunity to influence the referee when we see the inevitable falling down at corners. Whether or not this refereeing profile is accurate or not I don’t know, but we’ll get an idea within the first 20 minutes if he’s going to fall for their tricks or not. He’s refereed us five times across both Europa League and Champions League down the years, with us never having lost, so that’s a good sign, although we’ve drawn three and we know that won’t be enough tonight. He’s dished out four yellows across those games, so hopefully that shows a modicum of calm, not reacting to the play acting. Let’s see though.

This is going to be tough, it’s going to have moments of worry, but this Arsenal team has to react to that last-gasp winner in Portugal a few weeks back. Fingers crossed they can.

Catch you all tomorrow for the usual de-brief.