Porto vs Arsenal LIVE commentary: Gunners seek first-leg lead as Arteta eyes first Champions League quarter-final since 2010 – kick-off time, team news and how to follow

Arsenal travel to Portugal this week for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash against Porto, live on talkSPORT 2.

The Gunners have been drawn to face the Portuguese giants who were champions of Europe in 2004 and haven't won on their three previous visits to Porto.

Arsenal have started 2024 in great formCredit: Getty

But Mikel Arteta's men head to Portugal in great form and with confidence flowing after thrashing Crystal Palace, Burnley and West Ham in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Porto aren't in the best form, having won just one of their last three.

However, at home, they are a different beast, losing two matches all season and one was a narrow defeat to Barcelona, so this won't be easy for Arsenal.

Porto vs Arsenal: Gunners flying

Just before the new year, Arsenal lost to West Ham and Fulham and appeared to be showing signs they were cracking.

They followed that up with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at home in the FA Cup to leave them out of both domestic cup competitions.

However, their league form has been exemplary, and they are turning into a winning machine.

They are also scoring a lot of goals, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka looking particularly sharp.

Leandro Trossard, starting as the lone striker with Gabriel Jesus injured, has also added a new dimension to their attack, while their midwinter trip to Dubai appears to have re-energised the whole team.

In many ways, this is the right time to be hitting form, as opposed to last year, when the Gunners started to slip up and allow Manchester City to catch them at the top of the table.

In the Champions League, they are also one of the strongest sides remaining and will feel confident about getting past Porto.

Arsenal are flying FC Porto have been eliminated from seven of their eight UEFA Champions League knockout ties against English opposition, with the exception being a round of 16 victory over Manchester United en route to winning the trophy in 2003-04. Arsenal have won all three of their home UEFA Champions League games against FC Porto by an aggregate score of 11-0, but are winless in all three away games (D1 L2). The last time Arsenal got past the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League, they did so by beating FC Porto 6-2 on aggregate in the 2009-10 campaign. Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat-trick at the Emirates for the Gunners in that tie.

Porto vs Arsenal: Team news

The Gunners remain without Jurrien Timber, who is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in August.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to miss out with a calf problem.

But Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu all have a chance of being involved.

The hosts will be without Zaidu Sanusi, who was stretchered off at the weekend with an ACL injury too.

40-year-old Pepe is expected to start in the centre of defence, but Stephen Eustaquio and Alan Varela are doubtful.

Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi is going to lead the line.

Pepe is still going strong for PortoCredit: GETTY IMAGES Each of the last five teams to eliminate FC Porto from the UEFA Champions League in the knockout rounds of the competition has gone on to reach the final that year – Juventus in 2016-17 (last 16), Liverpool in 2017-18 (last 16) and 2018-19 (quarter-final), Chelsea in 2020-21 (quarter-final) and Inter last season (last 16). Since the round of 16 was introduced in the UEFA Champions League in 2003-04, Arsenal have gone out at this stage more than any other side (9), including in each of their last seven appearances in the competition between 2010-11 and 2016-17. With eight last 16 eliminations, FC Porto are joint-second in this regard. FC Porto have scored seven goals in their last two UEFA Champions League home games, as many as they had in their previous nine home matches in the competition combined.

Porto vs Arsenal: What has been said?

Former Liverpool player Graeme Souness believes Arsenal are back in the title race.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "You have to include Arsenal in the conversation.

"Man City will be disappointed with the dropped points [against Chelsea] and Arsenal can't play soon enough, with the number of goals they are scoring.

"I think Arsenal have got the bit between their teeth. They will want to play every day at the moment."

Arteta must be loving it at the momentCredit: Sky Sports News Arsenal have scored more first half goals than any other side in the UEFA Champions League this season, with 12 of their 16 strikes coming before half-time. The Gunners have scored in the opening 45 minutes in each of their last 13 Champions League games, the longest such run in European Cup history. In this year’s UEFA Champions League group stage, only Manchester City (91%) and Real Madrid (89%) had a higher pass completion rate under pressure than Arsenal (86%). In a run stretching back to November 2018 with Man City, Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus has been involved in 20 goals in his last 18 UEFA Champions League starts (15 goals, 5 assists). He’s been involved in six goals in four starts for the Gunners so far this term (4 goals, 2 assists). No player has been involved in more UEFA Champions League goals this season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (3 goals, 4 assists), with the young Englishman averaging a goal involvement every 48 minutes in the competition so far.

Porto vs Arsenal: Date and how to follow

This Champions League last-16 first-leg clash will take place on Wednesday, February 21.

The match at the Dragao is due to kick-off at 8pm UK time.

talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage from Portugal with commentary from Jim Proudfoot and former Republic of Ireland international Andy Townsend.

talkSPORT.com will also have all the reaction.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.