Arsenal reached their first Champions League quarter-final since 2010 after beating FC Porto 4-2 in a penalty shootout at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening.
After an intense second leg at the Emirates, the teams were tied at 1-1 on aggregate, but Raya made two saves in the shootout to crush the hearts of the two-time champions.
The home team converted all four of their penalties as the noise level skyrocketed, and the custodian dove full stretch to deny Wendell. He then duplicated the feat against Galeno.
Since the Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid Champions League final in 2016, this is the first time a match has been decided on penalties.
“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.”
Arteta’s Premier League leaders, who have scored 33 goals in their last eight league games, trailed 1-0 after the first leg and were not at their best against a well-organized Porto team.
Just before halftime, Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal an equaliser, demonstrating that their perseverance had paid off.
The squad led by Sergio Conceicao managed to keep the home team off the scoreboard for extended periods of time in the first half, creating enough opportunities of their own to give the eager spectators cause for concern.
In a rough first half, both teams had trouble getting going. Porto tried their hardest to slow down the action by taking their time on throw-ins and goal kicks, much to the annoyance of the home crowd.
After the home team’s first concerted effort, Arsenal defender Ben White headed over in the fourth minute, and captain Martin Odegaard struck the side netting ten minutes later.
However, Porto, who won the European Championship the last time around under Jose Mourinho in 2004, had several opportunities.
Moments after Evanilson’s long-range effort at goal bounced wide, he launched a soaring effort that Raya palmed away.
Declan Rice missed the mark with his header, and Pepe (the first 41-year-old to start in the Champions League as an outfield player) used the lightest touch on his head to deny Kai Havertz a chance to connect with a cross from White at the back post.
After some excellent work by Odegaard, who ducked past an opponent and fed Trossard with a precisely weighted low pass into the box, the breakthrough eventually arrived in the 41st minute.
To defuse the situation, Trossard calmly sent a right-footed shot past custodian Diogo Costa and into the far corner of the net.
The visitors, who had made 22 prior tries to win a game in England, came out strong in the second half as Arsenal found it difficult to establish themselves.
When Odegaard dinked the ball into an empty net halfway through the second half, Arsenal believed they had doubled their lead, but Havertz’s foul on Pepe caused the goal to be disallowed.
Shortly after, Raya stopped Francisco Conceicao’s attempt from outside the penalty area as Porto surged forward.
In the 83rd minute, Arteta substituted Gabriel Jesus, and the former Manchester City player almost scored with his first touch.
Bukayo Saka attempted a classic curling shot as Arsenal pressed for the win, but it was punched back into the middle, and Odegaard mishandled the rebound when it was in a good position.
Early in the extra period, the home team appeared more threatening, but Porto still posed a threat when they broke, as substitute Mehdi Taremi missed the mark.
For the second overtime period, Arteta substituted Eddie Nketiah and Oleksandr Zinchenko; nevertheless, neither team was able to produce a winner, therefore penalties were used.
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