Arsenal welcome back Fabio Vieira to the squsd for tonight’s Champions League trip to Porto.

Vieira has been absent since November after undergoing groin surgery,

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Viera has been back in training now and took part in Arsenal’s session on Tuesday morning at their base in London Colney. While Thomas Partey, who has also returned to training, did not fly out to Portugal, Vieira was deemed ready.

The Gunners have not made it past this stage of the Champions League since 2010, when they beat Porto.

Vieira’s return is good news for Mikel Arteta, although he has to contend without Gabriel Jesus (knee), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf).

The trio did not train on Tuesday morning and it leaves Arsenal particularly light on options in defence. Jakub Kiwior, who has started the last two games, keeps his place at left-back.

The biggest debate for Arteta was who to start upfront in Jesus’ absence. Leandro Trossard leads the line again after excelling as a false nine recently, with Kai Havertz staying in his midfield role.

Starting XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

Subs: Ramsdale, Hein, Cedric, Heaven, Sweet, Elneny, Nwaneri, Smith Rowe, Vieira, Jorginho, Nelson, Nketiah

Time and date: 8pm GMT on Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Venue: Estadio do Dragao

TV channel: TNT Sports

Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük