FC Porto v Arsenal

The last time we won a knock out round in the Champions League was in 2010…2010!!!

Let that sink in for a moment.

That is not acceptable for The Arsenal.

I just felt that in that particular era of Arsene Wenger’s tenure that lessons were not learned and each season we were just existing in the Champions League and nothing more.

Remember the two 5-1 crushing against Bayern? They still give me nightmares now.

Fast forward to 2024 and to this season and Arteta absolutely gets it and the standards that have to be set.

We are competing, have a genuine chance of winning silverware and a squad to back it up. It has been a journey and there have been bumps in the road, but here we are.

We are back into the knockout stages since 2017 and with a winter break in Dubai behind us, a rejuvenated Arsenal go into this tie at FC Porto with a great deal of confidence looking to make another statement to the rest of Europe.

Make no mistake about it Porto will be no mugs and we need give them our utmost respect, to give us the best possible chance in bring them to The Emirates will a positive score line in the bag.

We’ve had a great start to the year (touch wood that continues) and with the games coming thick and fast, player management and squad rotation will play a big part to get the balance spot on, as we compete on two fronts.

The return of Partey, Jesus and Tomi cannot come soon enough and if we can keep injuries down to an absolute minimum, I think we can give ourselves a real fighting chance of achieving some silverware.

Arteta has created a real connection between the team and supporters and with a young squad another year older and wiser, I feel our time is coming…and soon!

Back the boys until the end