Arsenal welcome Porto to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tonight.
The Gunners suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat in the first leg last month. They were hugely disappointing without a single shot on target.
Manager Mikel Arteta will want a strong response from his team tonight as the Gunners look to progress to the quarter-final for the first time since 2010.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Aaron Ramsdale started in goal at the weekend as David Raya was ineligible to face his parent club. The Englishman made a huge blunder to concede before the break but made amends with two excellent saves in the second half. He is still expected to be replaced by Raya between the sticks.
Ben White has been in the form of his life and registered both assists in the 2-1 win over Brentford. He is a nailed-on starter at right-back. Similarly, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are expected to keep their places at the heart of the defence.
There could be a change at left-back with Oleksandr Zinchenko replacing Jakub Kiwior. Porto are likely to play with a low defensive block. Zinchenko’s passing and creativity higher up the field could be key to unsettling their backline.
Declan Rice picked up an early booking against Porto last time around which meant that he had to play more cautiously. In our view, Jorginho should continue alongside the club’s record signing.
The Italian will have the defensive duties with Rice having more freedom to press forward. The latter has registered three goals and four assists in his last six appearances in all competitions.
Further forward, there could be a solitary change with Leandro Trossard dropping to the bench. We fancy Gabriel Jesus on the left wing with Gabriel Martinelli set to be ruled out of the game.
Martinelli was not in training yesterday after a nasty cut on his left foot. Jesus’ pace and dribbling could be an ideal fit. He has been in sparkling form in Europe with six goal involvements this term.
The rest of the attack should stay the same. Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka will start in the number 10 and right wing roles respectively with Kai Havertz leading the line for a fourth straight game.
How Arsenal could line up vs Porto
