Arteta hails magic night as Arsenal reaches quarterfinals
LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed a magic night as his side held their nerve to reach the Champions League quarterfinals with a penalty-shootout victory over Porto on Tuesday.
Leandro Trossard’s first-half goal made it 1-1 on aggregate after Porto had edged the first leg, but Arsenal could not conjure a winner in normal and extra time before it triumphed 4-2 on penalties.
It is the first time the north Londoners have been in the quarterfinals since 2010, after which they suffered seven successive exits in the last-16 before a six-season absence from Europe’s elite club competition.
“A magic night. We expected a really tough opponent. It’s very difficult to generate momentum and that’s credit to Porto,” Arteta told reporters.
“Credit to [goalkeeper] David [Raya] who had some difficult moments to start but showed incredible determination and stood up and got rewarded.”
Loanee Raya had returned to the starting lineup after being unable to play against his host club Brentford on Saturday as Arsenal won an eighth successive Premier League match to move top of the table with 10 games left.
The Spaniard proved the hero on a tense night as he kept out Galeno’s penalty to spark wild celebrations.
“Obviously it’s a great feeling for me personally, first time in the Champions League and for the club to get into the quarterfinals for the first time in so many years,” Raya said.
“We’ve worked a lot on penalties this year and all the hard work with the coach and the team has paid off. A great moment personally and collectively.
There was a mood of euphoria at the end and Arteta said the fans had helped his young side get over the line.
“We’re starting to create an unbelievable energy in the stadium, we were all pushing to get it done and together we have done it,” he said. “We absolutely love the fans, the energy they gave, how positive they were, how they contributed.
“They made us win, it’s as simple as that.”
Xavi takes on Barca critics
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez had the last laugh on Tuesday after his side defied the critics by reaching the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in four years.
Barca’s 3-1 home win over Napoli saw it advance 4-2 on aggregate in the last-16 tie. The five-time Champions League winners had failed to progress from the group stage in the last two seasons and was defeated in the last-16 in 2020/21.
Barcelona, which is third in La Liga and trail leader Real Madrid by eight points, has struggled for consistency this season and Xavi announced in January that he would leave the club at the end of the season.
“We have received unfair criticism,” Xavi told reporters. “There has been too much pressure on the players like ultimatums, life or death.
“I even read that we were the joke of the Champions League. And now what?”
Xavi had said before the match that the second leg of the last-16 tie was Barca’s biggest game of the season.
“We had to be better than Napoli and we were, it’s a more than deserved qualification, it’s one of my best moments as Barcelona coach.
“We can be proud because we are one of the best eight teams in Europe.”
Champions League last-16 second-leg results: Tuesday: Arsenal 1, Porto 0 (1-1 on aggregate, Arsenal advances 4-2 on penalties); Barcelona 3, Napoli 1 (Barca advances 4-2 on aggregate). Wednesday: Borussia Dortmund vs PSV Eindhoven (tied 1-1 from 1st leg) (late); Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan (Inter leads 1-0 from 1st leg) (late).