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Preamble:
2004 was the Chinese Year of the Monkey. For the United Nations, meanwhile, it was the International Year of Rice (NOT cauliflower or gumbo; nor curds nor whey). And for football it was, undoubtedly, the Year of Shrunken Giants. Because of the shortcomings of the erstwhile big boys Greece were able to become kings of Europe and the Champions League final was contested by Monaco and Porto.

That was only six years ago but folks seem to be getting nostalgic for it, and lo, this season is shaping up as some sort of tribute. I put it to you that almost any of the remaining teams in the Champions League could win the thing, what with none of the favourites – Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United – looking invincible. So defeat tonight would make the sense of opportunity-missed all the more agonising for injury-ravaged Arsenal.

And defeat is not unthinkable, obviously. Never under Arsene Wenger have Arsenal progressed in Europe after losing the first leg and tonight's task is complicated by the absence of Robin Van Persie, William Gallas and Cesc "the best midfielder in the Premier League" Fabregas. What's more, Porto are pretty nifty even if Arsenal outplayed them for long spells before disintegrating at a crucial time in the first leg. Pleasingly, Porto are built to attack – they usually deploy a 4-3-3 and have fired off more shots than any other team in the tournament so far – and Jesualdo Ferreira would be foolish to abandon that policy now, with Arsenal suffering from palpable frailties. So as a spectacle this promises to be fun.

All of which is a prolix way of saying: please keep me company.