Arsenal v Porto Review – by a very exhilarated Arsenal fan! What a night

Arsenal v Porto. A review & what next! by Baron

What a night it was!

Congratulations to the Arsenal faithful on JustArsenal & beyond.

We lived through every imaginable emotion with the team last night & we deserve the collective smiles on our faces this morning.

I expected a tough time (it would have been foolhardy to have expected an easy victory, after what played out in the first leg) and a tough tie it was indeed.

Any team in the knockout rounds of the UCL earned the right to be there, so no surprises.

Mannnn, Porto are a dirty football team!

Play acting, falling over every 15 secs, making rugby tackles at every turn, elbows & hip checks, & repeatedly waving imaginary cards seemed to be their go-to tactics, yet the referee seemed to be in on the act. Totally encouraged their silliness by refusing to do anything about it. Same thing happened in the first leg (that was even worse), where the ball was only in play for about 50mins or thereabouts.

Absolute sh*thousery!

We complain about the general standard of officiating in the EPL, but it appears referees on European nights are just as bad, if not worse, judging by these two games against Porto.

I hope we do not have to face this kind of ginger + vinegar + quinine mix type of games anymore, now that Stoke City Prime is out.

Glad we eventually made it. It would have been such a heartbreaking moment, had we not qualified. My biggest concern was the kind of effect being knocked out would’ve had on the team & by extension, the rest of our season. Getting knocked out under these circumstances, with a lengthy break to face till our next game against City on March 31st would’ve been such a downer.

Thankfully we answered in the best way possible.

Sweet relief at first, then undeniably, the belief grows.

A massive mental test passed successfully.

Big ups to the Emirates crowd last night. They played a huge part in helping us cross the line.

Totally intimidated the Porto players with their noise decibels during the shootout.

Booed the Porto spotkick takers to the point that they could barely raise their heads up while facing Raya.

Odegaard, Master, Fighter, Capitan!

For all the rave reviews the likes of Saka & Saliba earn on a weekly basis, none epitomizes the ethos of this team quite like Ødegaard.

Energy that belies his frame, passion, dedication & commitment to the badge.

Never stops running, never stops fighting, never stops pressing.

A captain that leads by example on the pitch.

There’s a reason he’s my favourite Arsenal player.

Raya, you beauty!

I doubt there are many doubters left after last night.

Rice, perfect temperament for nights like these.

Make no mistake, we’ve only qualified for the quarter finals, not that we’ve won the competition yet.

Savour this moment and remain humble in victory.

However, you can only win when you’re still in the competition, & here we are. Can we do the unthinkable? It’s too early to think that far. The best approach is to take it one game at a time.

Arsenal, Oh how i love you!

We lived this moment together.

Victoria Concordia Crescit ❤️

COYG 💪

By Baron