Arsenal face a tricky trip to the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday to face 2004 Champions League winners Porto.
The Gunners’ main difficulty is seemingly liable to be finding the net, given that, since November 2003, just one team (Artmedia Bratislava) has scored more than once against the Portuguese side on their own turf in the competition.
However, they would do well not to underestimate their opponents’ powerful forward, Givanildo Vieira de Souza, aka “Hulk”, who had more shots during the group stages of the tournament than any other player aside from Diego Forlan:
| Player | Team | Total shots | Goals |
| Forlan | Atletico Madrid | 28 | 0 |
| Hulk | Porto | 21 | 3 |
| Dzeko | VfL Wolfsburg | 20 | 4 |
| Ibrahimovic | Barcelona | 20 | 1 |
| Falcao | Porto | 19 | 3 |
| Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 18 | 6 |
| Cacau | VfB Stuttgart | 17 | 0 |
| Shevchenko | Dynamo Kiev | 16 | 1 |
| Cheyrou | Marseille | 15 | 1 |
| Misimovic | VfL Wolfsburg | 15 | 1 |
One of the key reasons for the 23-year-old’s ability to get shots off is his dribbling ability.
Aside from his strength, the forward is also noted for his speed and acceleration, providing two of the reasons as to why he attempted and completed more dribbles than any other player during the group stages (including Lionel Messi, who made as many starts as him - five):
| Player | Team | Dribbles Attempted | Successful Dribbles |
| Hulk | Porto | 63 | 34 |
| Messi | Barcelona | 53 | 31 |
| Kaka | Real Madrid | 42 | 18 |
| Krasic | CSKA Moscow | 41 | 22 |
| Niang | Marseille | 39 | 15 |
| Marcelo | Real Madrid | 33 | 16 |
| Jovanovic | Standard Liege | 32 | 16 |
| Dembele | AZ Alkmaar | 31 | 16 |
| Milevskiy | Dynamo Kiev | 31 | 10 |
| Gokdeniz | Rubin Kazan | 29 | 15 |
Hulk has been out of action in the domestic league for Porto since 20th December owing to a lengthy ban following the crunch clash with Benfica, leading to questions over his match fitness.
However even if he struggles to find his feet, the “Tripeiros” can always rely on another of their South American strikers, Falcao.
The Colombian frontman has already matched Hulk’s tally in Europe this season (three goals) and has fired in six in his last four appearances in all competitions at the Estádio do Dragão.
