With yet another international break forced upon us by the powers that be, thoughts have turned to the beginning of another Champions League campaign. After years of underachievement in the competition, last season’s sojourn to the final has filled most Gooners with optimism. Particularly as that remarkable run was undertaken by an embryonic side having, effectively, its first crack at the illustrious (and elusive) trophy. With the psychological barrier suffered by ‘The Invincibles’ liberated and a style of play tailor-made for Europe’s premier competition, a quarter final seems to be a minimum expectation. But Group F has thrown up some snakes in the grass.

F.C PORTO - Realistically one of the weaker sides in Pot 2. Porto is unrecognisable from the side that conquered Europe in 2004. Shorn of Deco, Carvalho, Ferreira, Costinha, Miguel, Maniche, McCarthy and Mourinho, Porto has undergone a tumultuous two years since, with a multitude of player and manager changes. But having regained their domestic title after two barren years, they seem to have reinstalled some kind of decorum (although naturally, they have just sacked another manager). Porto is a predominantly Portuguese and Brazilian outfit and as such play in a South American manner, relying on dictating the pace of a match with a slow tempo followed by fast bursts of interplay. The loss of their arch poacher Benni McCarthy may hurt them, but Quaresma is a healthy source of goals from midfield and Helder Postiga has enjoyed something of a renaissance in an attacking midfield position.

Porto can count themselves fortunate to be in this year’s competition as they have been dogged by Juve-style corruption claims. It was in fact proven that they paid monies to a Portuguese match official, but the case was dismissed on the grounds that the sum paid to the official was paltry and the match he officiated was not of great importance anyway. (Honestly! Though I suppose it will be interesting if Porto play A.C Milan in the knockout stages, as the referee will become the centre of a lucrative bidding war.)

CSKA MOSKVA - CSKA epitomise the revised fortunes of Russian football of late. With a huge cash injection from Roman Abramovich’s oil company Sibneft, CSKA have managed to impose themselves on their domestic league. Their 2005 UEFA Cup success was the first ever from a Russian side and seems to hint at a European pedigree (though that was the UEFA Cup, the one Middlesbrough nearly won). CSKA are not the stereotypically stoic Soviet side, they also have a strong South American influx. Wagner Love (who was purchased with Abramovich’s money- so expect to see him in a Chelski shirt as soon as another English side feigns interest) and Daniel Carvalho (who has a delightful afro) offer the side flair in attack and real speed on the counter attack. The fact that both have been drafted into the Brazil squad speaks volumes for their quality. In Aleksei Berezoutski they have a commanding centre half who is the pivot of their side, as well as the Russian national team.

HAMBURGER SV - Very much a side on an upward trajectory, the signings of Van der Vaart, De Jong and Guerrero offer them vibrancy and pace. All three players have youth, pace and are technically excellent. The twin losses of Boulahrouz and Van Buyten at the back have been augmented by the arrivals of Mathijsen and the highly rated Vincent Kompany. They are a direct, athletic side. Mahdavikia and De Jong bomb forward on the flanks, while Raphael Wicky and Guy Demel hold the fort in central midfield. This enables Rafael van der Vaart to roam in ‘the hole.’ Unfortunately for us, Hamburger SV are set-piece specialists. In Van der Vaart they have a dead ball architect to rival Beckham, his pinpoint delivery enables more physical, defensive players to punish ‘zonal markers’ with their aerial prowess.

The German side also shares some uncanny similarities with Arsenal. Not only are they sponsored by Fly Emirates, but also the club directors are currently at loggerheads with their left back, ex-lasagne dodger Thimothee Atouba (and his agent Jurgen Barnett?). “They are treating me like an animal,” Atouba raged, in a statement that genuflects Cole’s “fed me to the sharks” gem (ah, what price for Dein and Wenger to make the leap from metaphorical to the literal and dangle him by his ankles in a shark tank). The Hamburg board has responded by refusing to take Atouba for ‘walkies’ for the rest of his contract… And they’ve signed Juan Pablo Sorin. Incidentally, Hamburg also holds the German domestic record for consecutive matches without defeat, chalking up 36 games between January 1982 and January 1983 (36? That all? Pah).

Given their style of play, Hamburger SV will pose the biggest threat to Arsenal. But trips to Moscow are never nice, whilst Porto enjoy feverish support at the Esatdio da Dragao, making it an intimidating arena. Home form, as ever, will be crucial in deciding who progresses to the knock out rounds. However, this is a group where every team is capable of taking points off of one another, We should still win the group, but anybody expecting last season’s group stage walkover is likely to be disappointed.