FC Porto remain unbeaten at home against Arsenal in European competitions, with two wins and a draw, before hosting the Gunners in the first leg of the last 16 of the 2023/24 Champions League.
In the Champions League, the Dragons started with a goalless draw in the 2006/07 season, followed by a 2-0 win in the 2008/09 season, both games played in the group stage. In the 2009/10 season, they won 2-1, as they did at the start of this season’s round of 16.
On the first occasion, in the sixth and final round of Group G, a goalless draw was enough to guarantee qualification for the last 16, where FC Porto would be eliminated by Chelsea, also from London, led by José Mourinho.
FC Porto finished second in the group, with the same 11 points as Arsenal – who topped the group due to their head-to-head advantage after a 2-0 win in London – while CSKA Moscow had eight points and Hamburg three.
After a thrilling draw, FC Porto really imposed themselves on the Gunners in their second home clash of the 2008/09 season, again on the sixth and final matchday of the group stage, where first place in Group G was up for grabs.
The Dragons, who had suffered a 4-0 defeat in London, needed a win to steal first place from the Londoners, and they got it, with goals from Portuguese international defender Bruno Alves in the 39th minute and Argentinian Lisandro López in the 54th minute.
The following season, the two clubs met again, but this time in the round of 16, and once again FC Porto emerged victorious at the Estádio do Dragão, with goals from Silvestre Varela in the 11th minute and Colombian Radamel Falcao in the 51st.
On the stroke of half time, defender Sol Campbell scored for the English in the 18th minute, a goal that was worth double figures in the event of a draw in the tie, but ended up being irrelevant as the Gunners won 5-0 at home.
The Dragons are unbeaten in home games with Arsenal and, in all their meetings with the English side, they hadn’t lost a game until the end of the 2008/09 group stage, when they had five wins and seven draws from 12 games.
