London, March 13 (IANS) Arsenal beat Porto 4-2 on penalties n the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
It was the first penalty shoot-out in the competition since the 2016 final – with David Raya the hero as the Gunners prevailed 4-2 on spot kicks to end a 14-year wait to feature in the quarterfinals.
Arsenal cancelled out Porto’s 1-0 first-leg advantage on 40 minutes when Leandro Trossard found the net, and after the break the Gunners thought they had gone in front but Martin Odegaard had a goal controversially disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
Extra-time couldn’t separate the sides and as the tie went to penalties. Arsenal netted all four of their kicks, and Porto struck a post before Raya proved to be the matchwinner as he tipped Wendell’s penalty on to a post and clear before keeping out Galeno’s spot-kick to book Arsenal’s spot in the quarter-finals.
“It has been 14 years, 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’re starting to create an unbelievable energy in the stadium,” Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach said.
–IANS
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