Raya of light as Arsenal progress past Porto on penalties to reach Champions League quarters

David Raya proved the hero in the penalty shootout as he made two saves to save the Gunners from a surprise exit.

RAYA OF LIGHT: Arsenal's David Raya, Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice celebrate. Photo credit: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire.

Arsenal 1 Porto 0 (after extra time)

Arsenal win 4-2 on penalties.

DAVID RAYA was Arsenal’s penalty shoot out hero as he kept out two spot kicks to send arsenal through to the quarter finals of the Champions League in the most dramatic of late night victories.

The much-maligned on loan Brentford keeper returned to the starting line up ahead of Aaron Ramsdale to stake a place in club folklore.

Leandro Trossard’s first half strike earned Mikel Arteta’s men the chance to progress to the last eight for the first time since 2010 and boy how they held their nerve in the toughest of tests against a very good Porto side.

Every Arsenal player scored and then it was Raya, who conceded the last minute goal to Galeno in the first leg defeat away in Portugal, who had to hold his nerve. How fitting he should redeem himself by denying the same player with the very last kick of the tie with a brilliant penalty save.

Mikel Arteta was concerned Premier League leaders Arsenal would go off the boil with two and a half weeks before they play again next - away to Manchester City on Easter Sunday.

Now the Arsenal manager will be thankful for the break. They will need all of those 19 days to rest and recover after this exhausting battle. It was a relentless, passionate throwback full-blooded European cup tie with fouls and thrills aplenty.

Trossard scored his fifth and best goal of 2024 to send this last 16 tie into extra-time when there was little to separate the two sides. Porto were deemed easy opponents past which Arsenal could cruise into the last eight of the Champions League for the time since 2009-10.

But the Portuguese side were more than a match for England’s finest and Arteta and his players can only have benefitted from this experience of a knock-out tie played in one of the best atmospheres this modern north London stadium has ever housed.

They came into the match having been eliminated from the last 16 more than any other side, including each of their past seven appearances in the competition.

Porto, third in their domestic league, had progressed from three and been eliminated from three of their previous six Champions League knockout-stage ties in which they have won the first leg.

Arsenal's Leandro Trossard scores their side's only goal of the game. Photo credit: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire.

But this generation of Arsenal players are great competitors and they showed once again by recovering from their first leg deficit and once again showing they can compete at this level.

They did not show enough to worry the likes of European veterans Real Madrid and Barcelona, perhaps, but this is a club ready to take the next step under Arteta and his staff. Not many clubs will fancy playing them when they next step into action in this competition.

Porto, who defended for their lives before snatching a late winner in the home leg, had a lot of possession early on this time around and Arsenal played with a rare measure of patience in their desire to get forward. How they missed the raw pace and skills of injured Brazil winger Gabriel Martinelli up against Porto’s 41-year-old right-sided defender Pepe.

That is the same as Arteta, coincidentally, a young manager learning his trade at this level against more experienced opponents.

Porto, as they did in the first leg, had Arsenal’s set pieces well worked out too. They also surprised Arteta by pressing the Arsenal defence when they could and had David Raya earning his money in the Arsenal goal. Their lone striker Evanilson twice produced solid saves from the recalled on loan Brentford keeper.

Both Arteta and his Porto counterpart Sergio Conceicao were shown yellow cards as their frustration with France referee Clement Turpin became too apparent.

They then moved on to a war of words with each other on the touchline. It was that sort of night – one Arsenal players, staff and supporters have been missing for many years.

The wait is over, but they still have some way to go to convince they can dominate Europe as they are currently in England.

The introduction of former Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus gave arsenal more of an edge in extra-time but they still rarely looked like finding the second crucial goal.

Porto, for all their worldliness, seemed almost happy to go for the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.

The crowd did their bit by making up for lost time with relentless support whatever happened on the pitch, for however long it went on. The Porto fans were just as good and just as noisy.

Arsenal and Arteta were searching for a hero as legs tired in both teams and nerves took control of the pattern of play with nobody ready to risk an error that might lead to a decisive late goal.

It was not a night for he faint hearted. Nor was it a night to miss or forget as knock out Champions League football did not fail to disappoint in any way.

ARSENAL: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior (Zinchenko, 105), Odegaard, Rice, Jorginho (Gabriel Jesus, 83), Saka, Havertz, Trossard (Nketiah, 105).

FC PORTO: Costa, Joao Mario, Kleper Pepe, Otavio, Wendell, Varela, Gonzalez, Francisco Conceicao, Eduardo Pepe, Galeno, Evanilson.

Referee: Clement Turpin (France)