Porto vs Arsenal: Four Players to Keep an Eye on in the UEFA Champions League Clash

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Arsenal will travel to Portugal to face FC Porto in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie. The Round of 16 stage has been a pretty nightmare one for the Gunners as they lost their last seven round of 16 ties on the bounce.

Barcelona, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich (again), Monaco, Barcelona (again) knocked them out from this very round in their last seven Champions League campaigns.

Quite interestingly, their last victory at this stage was again FC Porto although it was not a straight-forward one either. After a 2-1 loss away at Porto, Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat-trick at the Emirates to seal a five-goal reverse and send Arsenal into the quarter-finals.

It will be interesting to see how the Gunners fare in their Champions League tie and whether they can overcome the Portuguese giants or not. Here, we will take a look at four players to watch out for in the game.

Diogo Costa

Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa is regarded as one of the finest young keepers in the world right now and has been linked with multiple clubs in recent years. The Portugal international is a modern-day keeper with exceptional abilities on the ball but it will be his shot-stopping that is likely to be tested against Arsenal. Whether Costa can showcase his skills against the best of oppositions could go a long way in deciding the keeper’s long-term future.

Mehdi Taremi

Mehdi Taremi has been a striker who has been linked with a number of top sides in recent years following his exploits at Porto. The Iran international has not been at his best this season having scored just six goals and provided four assists this season. However, he has proven time and again that he is a man for the big occasions.

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard continues to earn the plaudits for his consistent performances. The Norwegian has been the key creator for the Gunners this campaign and has also contributed with crucial goals. Arsenal fans will certainly look up to their captain to make a difference against Porto.

Bukayo Saka

Home-grown talent Bukayo Saka has risen through the Gunners’ ranks and is arguably the key player for his side right now. With 15 goals and 13 assists already this campaign, Saka has numbers to back him up now and will key a player to watch out for Arsenal.