For the first time since 2010, Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League after some David Raya heroics in a penalty shootout versus Porto at Emirates Stadium.
The Spaniard was the only change from the win over Brentford. With Aaron Ramsdale returning to the bench. Mikel Arteta opting to keep Leandro Trossard on the left wing and Jakub Kiwior at left back. Takehiro Tomiyasu returned to an Arsenal matchday squad for the first time since the Japanese defender returned from Asian Cup duties.
Rather predictably, Porto set up deep and looked to protect the 1-0 lead they had from the first leg. Using every trick in the book to upset Arsenal’s patterns of play and slow down the tempo of the action as much as possible. And they succeeded in this plan with the Gunners struggling to break down the Portuguese giants, Bukayo Saka fired a slot straight at Diogo Costa and the visitors also forced a good save out of Raya at the other end but the opening 40 minutes were a tense and cagey affair.
That was until just before half-time when a fantastic pass from Martin Odegaard saw Trossard into space in the Porto box and the Belgian finished cooly to give Arsenal the lead on the night and level the tie on aggregate. The goal came at such an important time for Arsenal as they went into half-time with newfound belief after what was overall a pretty flat performance.
The second half began in a similar manner, with Porto not changing from their structured style and continued to frustrate Arsenal who failed to properly test Costa in the Porto goal as the second half went on. Odegaard found the back of the net on the 69th minute but it was ruled out for a foul by Kai Havertz in the build-up. The visitors remained a threat on the break, with Raya once again being called into action with a strong low diving save to deny Francisco Conceicao. The 90 minutes were soon up and extra time was called, but with the atmosphere at Emirates Stadium getting more and more tense, chances became fewer and further between and 120 minutes were soon gone and a penalty shootout was called to decide who would advance to the quarters stage.
Fans would be forgiven for feeling nervous before the shootout, not only because of the ocassion, but because of last year’s Europa league defeat to fellow Portuguese outfit Sporting CP who defeated Arsenal on penalties at Emirates Stadium. Odegaard stepped up first and buried his spotkick, and Porto followed up to level the shootout. Havertz cooly slotted his away, and Raya stepped up to tip Wendell’s penalty onto the post, Saka then smashed his effort into the corner to give Arsenal the advantage. Porto’s next penalty went past Raya despite the best efforts of the Arsenal keeper, but Declan Rice responded with scoring his own. Then, the goalscorer from the first-leg in Portugal Galeno stepped up in front of a jeering North Bank needing to score, and Raya produced the save to send Arsenal through and spark wild celebrations at N5 to send the Gunners through to the last eight of the Champions League for the first time in 14 years.
A 19-day break follows for Arsenal before a huge clash away at Manchester City awaits the Gunners at the end of the month.
Player Ratings:
David Raya: 10 – It has to be a ten for Raya, who produced a masterclass in the shootout to send Arsenal through
Ben White: 7 – Solid and steady for the Englishman
William Saliba: 6 – Not quite as domiannt as composed as usual but still ok
Gabriel: 7 – Slightly better than Saliba
Jakub Kiwior: 8 – One of Arsenal’s standout outfield players, excellent defensivley and composed on the ball
Jorginho: 6 – Couldn’t control the midfield as much as usual but used his experience both on and off the ball at times
Declan Rice: 6 – Not his best evening but played a number of excellent long passes
Martin Odegaard: 8 – Arsenal’s best outfield player. Showed incredible workrate and got a superb assist
Bukayo Saka: 5 – One of the wingers poorest performances. Just couldn’t get the better of Wendell and delviery from corners was poor
Kai Havertz: 6 – Not as involved as recent weeks but worked very hard off the ball
Leandro Trossard: 6 – Actually was pretty poor for most of the night but came up with a huge goal when his chance came