Arsenal dispelled the echoes of old vulnerabilities in the Emirates on Tuesday night as they survived a nail-biting, tricky extra time and penalty shootout against FC Porto and finally overcame the curse that had made them kings of the Champions League second round. Competition.
Wild celebration scenes broke out around the stadium as David Raya dived to his left to save Porto’s fourth penalty from Galeno and ensure Arsenal, who had scored each of their first four kicks, could not be caught. Raya had also saved from Wendell earlier in the shootout.
Arsenal’s last seven appearances in the competition had ended in the round of 16, but not this time. It was a far from convincing performance, but after the draw finished 1-1, Mikel Arteta’s side held their nerve in the end and now join their Premier League title rivals Manchester City, and Real Madrid , Barcelona and the rest in the league. last eight.
The hopes and fears of so many years had hung heavy over the Emirates on a damp evening in north London. It was an evening charged with memories of past glories for FC Porto and of past failures for Arsenal, a night when two teams came to fight to make amends and strive for immortality.
Twenty years ago this week, Porto headed to Old Trafford for the second leg of another last-16 tie, seeking to protect a one-goal lead just as they sought to protect it at the Emirates.
David Raya saved twice in the penalty shoot-out as Arsenal reached the quarter-finals
Arsenal converted all four penalties to progress after a hard-fought draw against Porto
Gunners players swarmed to Raya after the Spaniard kept their Champions League hopes alive
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It’s been 20 years since they stunned Manchester United with a final equalizer and their manager, Jose Mourinho, on the verge of being catapulted into superstardom, ran off the bench and slid down the touchline on his knees.
Porto won the tournament that year, so their hopes of matching that feat this year are gone. Arsenal’s goal wasn’t that intimidating. It had been fourteen years since they last qualified for the last eight of this competition.
That they have been eliminated in the second round more times than any other team – including in their last seven consecutive outings – is not the kind of record anyone wants to set and it stung them like a rebuke from history as they ran out in front of their fans .
Brazilian winger Galeno had scored deep into extra time for Sergio Conceicao’s side at the end of the first leg in Porto last month to add some unexpected danger to this tie, but Arsenal fans were so confident of progress, at least appearance, that they popularized the hashtag. ‘pray for Porto’ on social media.
“This stadium will have the energy you’ve never seen in your life because we haven’t done it for 14 years,” Arteta said before the match. These are heady times for his team as they prepare for the final stages of their bid to win their first national title in two decades and the crowd responded with the passion Arteta demanded.
Arteta had started with Trossard on the left of the front three as Gabriel Martinelli was still absent with a foot injury and was seen on crutches in the stadium before the match. He is expected to be out for at least two weeks, but after that it will be another 19 days before Arsenal play again.
To the surprise of no one, Porto rallied the defense at the start and absorbed Arsenal’s pressure. Bukayo Saka made a difficult save from Diogo Costa with a fierce low shot, Martin Odegaard shot just wide and Ben White headed over the bar. Porto looked as if they were prepared for a long night of resistance.
Midway through the half, Porto reminded Arsenal that they would not be content with sitting back. Evanilson got the ball on the edge of the home team’s field of play and curled his shot around Gabriel. David Raya threw himself to his left to push the ball away. It became a bit quiet in the stadium for the first time.
Porto threatened to extend their overall lead, with Evanilson forcing a stop from Raya
Leandro Trossard leveled the score in the first half after a pass from Martin Odegaard
Arsenal looked to build on the momentum following Trossard’s goal against a resilient Porto
Suddenly Arsenal started to look a little more cautious. Their body language changed. Jorginho berated his teammates for a lack of urgency, Arteta became more lively on the touchline, the Porto fans became more noisy, the Arsenal supporters became more frustrated with Porto’s ability to eat the clock.
Arsenal came close to breaking the deadlock after half an hour when Ben White delivered a delicate chip to the back post where Kai Havertz was lurking. Pepe, Porto’s experienced skipper, showed agility beyond his 41 years. He jumped high to get the faintest touch of the ball, which slid off his forehead and eluded Havertz.
The creeping sense of unease was heightened when William Saliba was shown a yellow card for dragging Galeno down as the Brazilian winger turned past him, but the moment of catharsis arrived four minutes before half-time.
Trossard and Odegaard exchanged passes on the edge of the Porto area before Odegaard delivered a brilliant through ball inside the full back into the Belgian winger’s path. Trossard took the ball on his right foot and placed it just past Diogo Costa to nestle just inside the far post.
The last Arsenal player to score in the Champions League knockout stages was Theo Walcott and he sat in the Emirates press box watching the new generation try to build on the Trossard goal that had brought them level in the tie.
Porto responded by doubling down on their time-wasting tactics at the start of the second half. Evanilson attempted an overhead kick and then lay prone in the Arsenal area as play continued. To the anger of the home crowd, French referee Clement Turpin stopped the game.
Arsenal thought they had the second goal they needed midway through the half when Odegaard lifted a neat finish into an empty net, but the referee disallowed the goal as Havertz had pulled Pepe’s shirt back in the build-up. In the ensuing commotion, Arteta was given a report for suggesting VAR would review the decision.
Martin Odegaard thought he had given Arsenal the lead in the second half with a shot
The Arsenal captain’s effort was disallowed after Kai Havertz was penalized for a foul on Pepe
Gabriel Jesus came close to winning with his first touch off the bench before extra time
Arsenal ultimately needed penalties to beat Porto, with Raya emerging as their hero
The atmosphere became feverish again as the minutes passed. Porto fed on it. They could sense Arsenal’s nerves and inexperience at this stage of the competition. Not that they were immune to histrionics. When a decision went against his team, Sergio Conceicao lost his patience so spectacularly on the sidelines that he too was shown a yellow card.
Gabriel Jesus took the lead eight minutes before the end and almost scored with his first touch. He tried to squeeze his shot under Diogo Costa’s body, but the shot went off the back of the goalkeeper and bounced into the side netting.
The volume went up. Odegaard urged the crowd to make even more noise. Diogo Costa knocked away Saka’s shot and Odegaard pulled the rebound just wide. Arsenal threw everything they could against Porto as extra time approached, but the breakthrough failed to materialise. It was down to David Raya and the penalty shoot-out.