Taremi eager to make his mark against Arsenal
Sports Desk
Iranian striker Mahdi Taremi will be hoping to regain his place in Porto’s starting XI when the Dragons play away to Premier League giant Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League last-16.
Porto will take a 1-0 aggregate lead to London’s Emirates Stadium after Brazilian Galeno’s stunner deep into stoppage time secured a massive home win for Sergio Conceicao’s men three weeks ago.
Taremi has only made a cameo appearance for the Portuguese club since returning from international duty at the Asian Cup in February – missing six games, including the first leg against the Gunners, with a groin injury.
The leading marksman in the Portuguese top flight last season with 22 strikes, Taremi has endured a below-par run, by his standards, in the ongoing campaign as he has only managed six goals in 25 games with Porto across all competitions.
His last club goal came in a 2-1 victory over Leixoes in the Portuguese Allianz Cup on December 23.
The Iranian still played an instrumental part in helping Porto progress to the Champions League knockouts by bagging two goals and assists apiece in six group outings.
Chasing an 11th goal in the fourth season at the European elite clubs’ competition, Taremi has fond memories of playing against the London clubs as his stunning overhead kick against Arsenal’s archrival Chelsea in the 2020/21 quarterfinals earned him nomination for the FIFA Puskas Award.
Set to join Inter as a free agent in the summer, the Iranian will also be eager to make the most of tonight’s occasion to repair his relationship with a section of Porto faithful, who showed their frustration at the reports of their prolific striker’s imminent medicals at the Nerazzurri last month.
Porto manager Conceicao was quick to come to Taremi’s defense at the time, urging the supporters to “show respect” for their talisman, who is the club’s third all-time top scorer with 86 goals – standing behind retired strikers Mario Jardel (136) and Jackson Martinez (92).