FC Porto 0 Arsenal 0: Boring, boring Arsenal, but who cares?

Clichy - Usual energetic display

Should we be optimistic with key players missing? Porto are a form side at home but we've not been bad travellers in Europe, either this season or in the past, we just haven't got the results we've deserved in this competition. Then again if you fail to hit the net and concede all too easily that will always be the case. Porto would be tough cookies tonight, as they'd remained unbeaten at home in 25 games at the start of play.

We started with five in midfield and a lone striker in Adebayor up front. We had a very attacking bench and a very defensive team. Porto opted for a 4-3-3 going on 4-5-1 that included six South Americans. I watched this one on the box and Alan Parry's Sky commentary was as dire as the match was. We managed a bit of iffy passing that occasionally dropped us in it but neither side went for rip-roaring attacking football and both teams made steady if unspectacular starts. Flamini over hit the odd pass, Quaresma the show boat king hit a wild shot but preferred back-heeling to himself, this not being a Premiership we lacked the opportunity to whack him into row C.

Unforced errors were our biggest danger and Adebayor must have been wearing the wrong deodorant because he was certainly lonely up front. Postiga had a couple of shots, but neither was any better than when he played for the Totts. Neither side was taking risks and from an excitement point of view this was not a game to drool over. What excitement there was came with the news that CSKA were 1 up in Hamburg. Parry urged for a Porto free kick after a perfect tackle by Eboue. Moraes had an angled shot clip an Arsenal heel before being cleared, but we did have three men on our line at the time. More excitement as Hamburg made it 1-1. Quaresma gave it all he had but only as he kicked the corner flag out of its socket.

A free kick against Flamini was followed by a rubbish 40-yard free kick by Porto. A great run by Clichy to take what little pressure there was off. ‘By far the greatest team' wafted down from the terraces. Flamini with a good ball in. Cesc and Hleb combined neatly to win our first corner after 35 minutes. Hleb was flattened, Kolo took the free kick from way out and was way wide with a fairly naff effort. ‘And its Arsenal, Arsenal FC'. Freddie won a free kick, which we wasted. There was a great shot by Assuncao which bent away wide, but it was more than enough to worry Jens. Cesc & Hleb with a tasty move to win a corner and we were almost pressurising them. Both teams continued to play defensively until the break where the one-minute added time took 8 seconds.

The second half saw a ball cut back on their right from the byline, which Quaresma hit with a sweet strike past Jens, but it hit the post. Thew! Porto pressure as Kolo got a toe to a cross before Jens dived bravely at feet. Clichy won a corner, which their keeper punched away. A good move with loads of possession saw Flamini nearly get through. At the other end Djourou's indecision let Quaresma have a shot with which he managed to hit the same post again. Postiga had a shot saved. Kolo headed clear a free kick and we really could have lived without this spell of pressure. It was all Porto and we looked far to ill at ease for my liking.

Djourou - Couple of iffy moments

Arsenal however then had a spell of very controlled passing and Freddie almost got through. Djourou broke away again but lost the ball as news came in that CSKA had gone ahead 2-1. Freddie crossed at one end and Porto won a corner at the other. Postiga shot wide but was offside anyway. News came through from Parry that Hamburg had had a man sent off, an ex-Tott. Oh dear!

Eboue headed clear and a dive won them another free kick as Alan Parry continued to talk out of his arse. Jens caught high from a corner but went down to kill the game for a bit. Porto won a throw that Parry claimed was a corner, not that he wanted Porto to win or anything. Adebayor was still running hard and doing his best to close down four players at once but he got no support all night. Alan Parry then told us that Hamburg were back to eleven players. Do what?

The game had slowed to walking pace, with a draw suiting both teams it all went flatter than a billiard table. Arsenal were passing it around at the back and there were no Porto challenges. So Arsenal were passed it around at the back and there were still no Porto challenges. We gave it away, we got it back and then Arsenal were passing it around at the back unchallenged by Porto. Subs came and went including Van Persie for Adebayor. Sometimes Porto passed it around at the back and sometimes it was Arsenal. Hamburg were now level at 2-2, good news because so long as neither team in Porto did anything silly we were both through. More passing it around at the back and CSKA were now 3-2 down. So we could now screw up and still go through. A glorious bore-draw was played out to the bitter death and we had the added bonus of no cards, plus we'd won our Group.

Now there may well be someone out there who wanted us to drop into the UEFA Cup so we had a chance to thrash the Totts in yet another Cup competition, but not me. We're now a seeded team in the next round, as anyone who'd stayed awake in Porto will know.