Arsenal progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals; however, it took penalties and David Raya to confirm their place in the last eight.
Porto aimed to slow down Arsenal’s pace in the opening exchanges, wanting to avoid getting caught out by the Gunners.
Arsenal continued to create opportunities, and moments later, Bukayo Saka tested Diogo Costa’s palm after a fine solo run.
Evanilson then had a sight of the Arsenal goal, shooting wide for the first nervy moments for the Gunners. However, six minutes later, Evanilson had another chance and stung Raya’s hands with a shot.
Just over five minutes before halftime, Porto had Arsenal where they wanted them, and William Saliba received a deserved yellow card for his troubles. A minute later, Leandro Trossard found the breakthrough, scoring Arsenal’s equaliser in the tie thanks to a fine pass from Martin Odegaard.
The second half started more rapidly for both sides, with Porto showing more interest in playing, especially through the wings where they had pace.
Arsenal soon found their stride in the second half, consistently opening up the Porto defence with dangerous setpieces, mostly corners and throw-ins.
Just when it seemed neither team could find the back of the net, Martin Odegaard scored due to a tangle between Kai Havertz, Pepe, and Diogo Costa. However, the goal was ruled out for a foul, leading to Mikel Arteta’s caution as he protested against the decision.
At the other end, FC Porto had a three-versus-three chance, but Raya saved Francisco Conceicao’s shot well. The game was opening up at this stage.
Arsenal appeared more prepared for Porto than in the first leg, matching the Portuguese side physically as the game became scrappier.
With around seven minutes of normal time left, Gabriel Jesus was sent on and nearly scored with his first touch, but Costa was quick off his line to thwart him.
Despite Arsenal’s late push to win the game, Porto defended resolutely, and the match headed into extra time.
The first period of extra time started as scrappy as the end of normal time had been, but Arsenal was on top, continually piling pressure on Porto.
At this stage, both teams’ players looked tired, with both making some changes to add fresh legs to the tie. Eddie Nketiah and Oleksandr Zinchenko came on for Arsenal.
Arsenal had the first significant chance of extra time, and when it seemed Saka would score, Otavio blocked brilliantly to keep the game level.
After a less frantic extra time, both teams were separated by penalties. Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, and Rice scored, while Raya saved two FC Porto penalties, sending Arsenal to the Champions League quarterfinals.
Long live the king
It almost tested my nerves why couldn’t we muster any shots in extra time despite having possession. It was almost we were inviting the penalties deliberately which is a risk for any team. But in the end everything happened for good. Satisfied.
It looked to me like our players were running out of gas/petrol. We actually did create a few attacks there, but the first touch on a few in-passes were poor due to tiring “noodle legs.” Thankful for a long break. And am satisfied too 👍
@Vz, we were tired and drained out by Porto’s negative tactics. Finally football won.
Porto are a really difficult team to play against but we did it, good game and the ref played like it was a 70s cup game, our team spirit carried us through.
14 years since our last CL quarters. Enjoy everyone (bookies 2nd favs behind City and ahead of Real now.)
I can’t believe we’re the second favorite in UCL, because we were too nervous to make high-risk moves and passes as we did in EPL
I wouldn’t bet on Arsenal if I were a gambler, but anything could happen in a knockout competition
We are top of the world’s best leagues with the most goals scored and least conceded, in recent memory we played Liverpool off the park. Where does this energy come from?
We’ve outscored Madrid in La Liga in the prem by 10
As Arsenal have proven for their entire history, European football is completely different type of football, that we’ve never been able to cope with, so our domestic performances won’t have a big as effect as some may think.
We were hanging by thread. One mistake in risky pass and the game is over. But yes, it was like we didn’t put that effort to win the game in normal play and mental hurdle was getting better of us. But we got plenty of set pieces by playing safe, which would have been enough to win premier league game. we have to appreciate how Porto managed the game and no matter how hatred player is Pepe, what he did was unbelievable and can’t imagine 41 yr playing like that. Hopefully this mental hurdle of being knocked out in round of 16 is over now and it could bring our free flowing football back to us in quarters and we could justify the second favorite tag given to us.
@GAI, The main challengers are City, Madrid and Bayern and Arsenal arent far behind. This win was a great psychological boost and will bode well for the rest of the season.
@Gai Let’s not be too critical. Sincerely, the type of game plan Porto came up with will worry best UCL teams. Porto played to fight for their 1:0 lead with all manner of football dark arts many stoppages. Taken too much risk in a quarter final knockut stage would be questionable. Arsenal last reached the stage 14years ago.
Credit to the Boys. It’s a learning curve for them. Porto had lots of experience than Arsenal. But the Boys did it.
I thought Diogo Costa was blabbing when he said before the first leg that they know how to stop us. They sure do.
Quality put us through tonight.
@John Legend
RealTalk. Ya gotta give it to them, they sure did take it to us. I still believe we had the cut of them though. That second goal should have stood, because Pepe and the keeper boxed in Havertz. Yet VAR deemed Havertz the aggressor…🤨
Who is the king now @ gunsmoke
The king is dead, long live the king.
The gaffer looks like a genius again with Raya rescuing the tie
I guess Raya’s signing has been justified, because Arsenal will get an additional profit by proceeding to the next UCL stage
Porto were highly organized/ skilled and Conceicao is a very good manager. I wouldn’t be surprised if an EPL team try to sign him in the summer
Arsenal obviously had stage fright and were too nervous to handle a game of such magnitude. Hopefully the mentality will change in the next UCL match
@GAI, Porto are an anti football team led by a manager who promotes fouling and cheating. NO PL team will take him as their manager.
Solid end to a game we performed uncharacteristically, must admit not our best display and not the best way to send the fans to the international break but i’m sure the team will come back stronger. Good luck rooting for your respective nations. COYG!!!
They should go back to Dubai or wherever it was that saw the tram return renewed and reinvigorated
Not a night for the faint hearted but what a climax!
European football is a completely different beast and we came through it.
The penalties were really decisive and the saves made me want to hug Raya.
That match was about character
Congratulations to the team and the coaches and a bigger hug to Odegaard who shows his prowess on the pitch and is a magnificent captain
Correct Sue. Not pretty but job done.
Nice saying, SueP.
It’s 14 years since last time, and a tough task for a young team. We managed to stay focused and do our job against a time wasting opponent. They tried everything to get us frustrated.
A tough tough game, Porto really made us work. I think we were nervous, especially at the back but we came through. Big up to Raya, great saves and great penalties. We just about controlled the game but our passing from the back in pressure games, has to improve in the next round. We gave the ball up far too easily some times. Its great to hopefully now come up against one of the monsters of CL football. Well done all. A nice rest to prepare for City. Odergaard led the team brilliantly.
That was a battle. In the past we used to loose these kind of games because of mentality or lack of.
This and the Brentford game shows me the team is maturing.
Still not sure if we are going to win anything this year but next year may be a different proposition.
I have a feeling Porto’s manager will be prowling an EPL sideline next year.
Only to fail miserably!!!
I honestly thought we would win fairly comfortably in normal time. Absolutely hate penalty shootouts particularly when we take part but a win is a win and we are in the hat for the quarter finals. Credit to Porto though for taking us to the wire.
Really dont want to rain on our happy parade. But as a realist, I am convinced we have next to no hope at all to actually win the CL. As we struggled mightily to get past a decent, but no more than that team inPorto, we will have no chance against the better teams left.
We are naivein Europe and do not YET have the game understnding to beat the best in CL.
HOWEVER, we have a serious chance in our PREM and crucially, we totally UNDERSTAND AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH Prem football.
We would have been better served for our Prem hopes in going our tonight, even though I am glad we stayed in, obviously.
But fast forward a few weeks and we may well come to regret going through tonight, as we now have a lot on our plate in TWO REALLY TOUGH COMPS.
Had we exited tonight, we would have had a real Prem advantage over Pool and City, who are both busy on SEVERAL FRONTS.
We were in nothing last year and CIty won the treble. It’s overplayed at this point of the season the benefit of missing what 4 games max before the end of the season. Losing today would have been a long long negative through a postponed game and an international break to the important City game can’t see how that would ever have been an advantage in the race.
Momentum is everything in title races.
I agree with you Jon that performance tonight will not get us any further also think we are still short in terms of winning premium league can’t see us winning at City or Liverpool think we will come up short again don’t get me wrong Arteta is getting a squad together that will win the prem league but still 3-4 top top quality players needed to get them over the line!
14 years since last time and we are moving onwards and upwards. If not this year we’ll have a new chance next year 🔴⚪️
Its like giving up even before the race starts. This attitude will never win anything. Being there in quarter final was a big big challenge which we haven’t done for 14 yrs. So to get it done even in a tough way is already an achievement and I am sure it will bring more mental toughness and confidence in our side to be able to compete with the very best in the game and that’s what all footballer dream of. And about premier league title, no success is guaranteed irrespective of what is on and off the pitch, so better live to the point that one can live to the fullest.
Apart from Atletico, who are likely to employ Porto and Brentford tactics to stifle our attack, the other teams are all winnable. They play attacking football and would be similar to facing Liverpool or Man City. Hopefully, I don’t jinx it, and we end up facing Atletico.
You have to consider the fact that not all teams we play against will set up like Porto. Brentford did use similar tactics but I just don’t see the bigger clubs playing like that. By your logic, we should not have beaten Liverpool because we struggled against Brentford. This result just means that Arsenal have a problem breaking down teams that play like Porto and Brentford.When Arsenal faces a different side, there will probably be more space to attack. But even if we were to face another team that decides to play like Porto,I imagine the team has gained valuable experience over two legs against Porto.
“We are naive in Europe and do not YET have the game understanding to beat the best in CL”.
Why do you think this is Jon? Do you think our historical performances Europe maybe had a role to play not just from our perspective, but from our opponents as well? Arsenal have never been a team to fear in Europe, so surely that gives our opponents an extra bit of confidence.
Porto did not look scared of us at all!
@John Fox, I disagree. Every game Arsenal plays, Arsenal plays to win. We beat a tough opponent in Porto, although a dirty team, and we cannot underestimate the value of our win. It gives us a psychological boost and motivates and encourages the players to do better. We will be better prepared in future matches as we keep winning. There is no guarantee that we will win the PL if we bow out of the CL. We have to keep fighting on both fronts.
@gunnerforlife, well said, last year we were out of all competitions yet we lost our. This win will surely help our course. I hate it when people are so pessimistic. As for me , I don’t dread any team in the champions league, I don’t see that team that is better than city and pool in Europe, and we beat both. So am confident that we will go far, my only worry is Atletico that plays similar style as porto. So guys let’s enjoy it while it lasts.
The additional prize money for reaching the quarter finals might do us well next season (more than being competitive or also rans in the prem this season)
Also, in the spirit of positivity and being realistic to some extent, I rate our chances against a (hopefully) Mbappe-less PSG given that they are more open and direct which might play into our hands. Similar case with Bayern and Barca who are not the inexorable forces they were in the past.
It’s City and Madrid that I deeply dread but that said, good preparationd during the break and a bit of luck could see us getting a result against any opponent still in the UCL
Again, Porto aren’t a football team. Play acting, falling over, making rugby tackles at every turn, yet the referee seemed to be in on the act. Encouraged their silliness by refusing to do anything about it.
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 our two games against Porto.
Glad we eventually made it. It would have been such a heartbreaking moment, had we not qualified.
Massive mental hurdle successfully scaled tonight.
Big ups to the Emirates crowd. They played a huge part in helping us cross the line.
Absolutely bullied the Porto players with the noise decibels during the shootout.
Booed their spotkick takers to the point that they couldn’t even raise their heads up while facing Raya.
Odegaard, Master!
Raya, u beauty!
Arsenal, Oh how i love you!
Victoria Concordia Crescit ❤️
Goodnight everyone!
COYG 💪
They made it extremely difficult for us, but we were hungrier and wanted it more.
So much for those who thought the second leg against Porto would be a walk in the park. Again poor finishing except for Trossard’s effort nearly put Arsenal out
Congratulations to our four penalty takers for rising to the occasion and Raya for saving two penalties to win the game for Arsenal.
The Martin Odegaard critics of his performances in big games were hopefully silenced tonight, as his individual play was superb and his leadership outstanding.
Congratulations to Arteta and the team for making the quarter finals.
We are back 🔴⚪️🫶
Full credit to Porto for giving us a difficult tie but massive congratulations to the club. What a night which marks a change for the better. We’ve broken the hoo-doo and have grown a little more! COYG!!
Well done boys tough night always was going to be but showed Character and came through in the end. Really shows how far this team has come in the last few year’s. Also very refreshing with the comments section today no bitching no moaning all just pleased with scraping though which is all that counts. We move on now city next let’s stay strong and hope and pray we can get another win in the biggest game of our season so far 👍
Phew, my heart was beating out my chest, but for some reason I KNEW we’d make all our penalties! WELL DONE ARSENAL! The main goal is getting to the next round. Play the game like a 2 legged tie which is exactly what we did. Thought we were much more calmer and composed compared to our away game against them where Arteta HATED the performance. UCL matches are so much about mentality, grit and composure and thought we showed all of that. Well done, espesctially Odegaaard, Raya and Kiwior!
Porto are a tough side to beat
They have won two UEFA Champions League titles (in 1987, as the European Cup, and 2004), two UEFA Europa League titles (in 2003, as the UEFA Cup, and 2011), one UEFA Super Cup (in 1987), and two Intercontinental Cups (in 1987 and 2004), for a total of seven international trophies.
Have seen enough to know this was a massive win though ugly.
The Portuguese are season campaigners, they stop us from play, the game was about struggle and character.
More quality opposition that try play ball when playing us, won’t be so effective as the Portuguese.
We will be the underdogs in the next round use irrespective of the opponent and that will relieve the team off some pressure. I hope we don’t get Atletico as it will be boring playing against rugby teams in consecutive rounds. Bayern Munich? Bring it on. It should be time to pay our long over due debt!
Pepe is such a cheat of a defender. The whole Porto team and their manager are a disgrace to football. Anti football for 210 minutes, fouling and full of dirty tricks. Glad that they are out and even more gladder that we are the ones who put them out. That said, I think the debate of who is a better GK has ended for once and all and one has to admit Arteta is a genius. What a player we have in Odegaard, Captain Fantastic. The dream of winning both the PL and the CL lives on.
We could do with a Pepe (or Ramos). Perhaps it might be Gabriel one day.
Very dry, Jax
We’ve not any one like that since Willie Young, Sue.
Brilliant penalties and great saves!
Credit to Porto over both legs, came with a plan and it worked for the most part.
Tough game against a well organised team with some good players. Porto have probably been underrated as they are a very good side. There are some pretty silly and disrespectful comments about Porto which highlight the insularity and arrogance of some fans.
Took a great sequence of play to get the goal through Trossard who had been nullified up to that point. The Porto fullbacks were very good.
Overall, Arsenal just about deserved it.
We just need a hybrid of our attackers to go to the next level. We have Trossard who requires just a single chance to score but goes missing in most games. Then we have the likes of Jesus, Havertz and Nkeitah who will make decent contribution but require 5 chances to score a single goal!
It wasn’t the worst game of football, but Ally McCoist got a bit carried away with himself didn’t he!
Three weeks off now. A good chance to get everyone fit & ready for the big push.
McCoist a bit carried away? 🤪 if he thought the ref was great, I watched a different game. The ref was way too leanient. If that was a EPL game there’s at least 4 red cards. Still, we got the job done and we can relax for a few weeks now, Jax!
Errr, that’s what I was saying. He wouldn’t shut up about it being a great game and a good ref.
I was totally baffled at the start of the season when we signed Raya.
Could see the reasons behind MA decision but thought it was harsh.
After Saturdays and last nights game I love AR but believe MA got it right.
These are the nights we as arsenal fans have been missing and craving for so thank you to the manager and team for giving this back to us. Beats Thursday night football hands down.
Next up we wait for the draw on Friday and then gear ourselves up for another big game at the end of the month.
Onwards and upwards
A very difficult hurdle overcome by grit and determination which many pundits believe we do not possess.Raya and Odegaard did very well and Kwior came of age last night in my opinion .
I felt the result was even more deserved considering Saka played one if his worst games this season and we were missing Martinelli. The biggest difference last night was Odegaard. His energy, drive and vision are nothing short of exceptional. I feel without him and Rice we would have lost last night. As it is, we can feel a great sense of joy and be proud of our club at the summit of the EPL and finally into the last 16 of the CL! COYG!!