Arsenal edged out Porto on penalties to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 on Tuesday after their last-16 tie finished 1-1 on aggregate.
David Raya was the hero as Arsenal beat Porto 4-2 on
penalties on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first
time since 2010.
The teams were locked at 1-1 on aggregate after an absorbing
second leg at the Emirates but Raya saved twice in the shootout to break the
hearts of the two-time champions.
The goalkeeper dived full stretch to deny Wendell and
repeated the feat against Galeno, while the home side converted all four of
their penalties as the decibel count soared.
It is the first time a Champions League match has been
decided by penalties since the 2016 final between Real Madrid and Atletico
Madrid.
“You are very nervous, you are hoping for the best but you
know that it (the shootout) is a bit of a lottery,” Arsenal manager Mikel
Arteta told TNT Sports.
“So happy. It has been 14 years (without reaching
quarter-finals), which is a long time for a club like Arsenal and it shows how
difficult it was. We really had to dig in to find the magic moment at the end.”
“We’ve been patient, worked so hard and a lot of people have
made good decisions and showed courage in difficult moments and this is where
you want to be,” he added.
Raya, on loan from Brentford, said it was a “great moment
personally and collectively”.
“This means everything. You play football for these kind of
things and I’m lucky to be playing for Arsenal, to be in the Champions League
and to get through to the quarter-finals.”
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Arteta’s Premier League
leaders — with 33 goals in their past eight league games — were not at their
fluent best against a disciplined Porto side.
Leandro Trossard pulled Arsenal level on aggregate shortly
before half-time as their patience paid off.
Sergio Conceicao’s men had succeeded in frustrating the home
team for long spells during the opening period, fashioning enough chances of
their own make it a nervy night for the expectant fans.
Both sides struggled to settle in a scrappy opening period,
with Porto doing their best to slow the game down by taking their time with
throw-ins and goal kicks, to the audible frustration of the home crowd.
Arsenal defender Ben White headed over in the fourth minute
after the home side’s first sustained attack while captain Martin Odegaard hit
the side netting 10 minutes later.
But Porto, who were last crowned European champions under
Jose Mourinho in 2004, had a number of openings.
Evanilson whipped a shot at goal from distance that bounced
wide and minutes later struck a rising strike that Raya palmed away.
Declan Rice headed just wide and Pepe — the first
41-year-old to play outfield in the Champions League — got the deftest of
touches with his head to prevent Kai Havertz from connecting with a White cross
at the back post.
Breakthrough
The breakthrough finally came in the 41st minute following
good work from Odegaard, who jinked past an opponent and fed Trossard with a
perfectly weighted low pass into the box.
Trossard calmly hit a right-footed shot past goalkeeper
Diogo Costa and into the far corner of the net to ease the tension.
The visitors, who had never won a match in England in 22
previous attempts, started the second half brightly as Arsenal struggled to
impose themselves.
Arsenal thought they had doubled their lead midway through
the second half when Odegaard dinked the ball into an empty net but the goal
was ruled out for a foul by Havertz on Pepe.
Moments later Porto streamed forward and Raya blocked
Francisco Conceicao’s shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Arteta threw on Gabriel Jesus in the 83rd minute and the
former Manchester City man nearly scored with his first touch.
As Arsenal pushed for a winner, Bukayo Saka produced a
trademark curling effort that was punched back into the middle and Odegaard
steered the rebound wide when well-placed.
The home side looked the more dangerous in the early stages
of extra-time but Porto remained a threat on the break, with substitute Mehdi
Taremi curling wide.
Arteta brought on Eddie Nketiah and Oleksandr Zinchenko for
the second period of extra time but neither side could find a winner and it
went to penalties.
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