Arteta hails magic night as Arsenal reach Champions League quarters
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed a magic night as his side held their nerve to reach the Champions League quarterfinals with a penalty shoot-out 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 they won 4-2 on penalties. It is the first time the north Londoners have been in the quarterfinals since 2010, after which they suffered seven exits in the last 16 before a sixseason 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 a credit to Porto,” Arteta told reporters. “It’s a huge experience for us. We had to do it as well through penalties. 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 line-up after being unable to play against his host club Brentford on Saturday as Arsenal won an eighth successive Premier League match to move to the 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 and all the hard work with the goalie coach and the team has paid off.”
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.
The victory could fuel Arsenal’s belief as they try to hold off Liverpool and Manchester City in the English league title race. The result maintained the momentum that Arteta’s squad have built up with eight successive Premier League victories and keeps them chasing silverware on two fronts.
As the emotion poured out inside the Emirates it felt like a psychological turning point for Arsenal. With no FA Cup involvement this weekend and then the international break, Arsenal will not play again until March 31 when they go to Manchester City in a crunch title clash. But after overcoming a crafty Porto side they will head to City with renewed belief.
“The energy it brings among the squad, among the club, it’s really powerful,” Arteta said.
Forward Bukayo Saka said the result set Arsenal up perfectly for the rest of the season.
“Right now, we’re top of the league and we’re into the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and we’re going into the international break,” the England international said. “This result gives us a lot of momentum, a lot of belief that we can go to the Etihad and get a good result.”
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said Arsenal’s progress to the quarterfinals of the Champions League would be a huge confidence boost in the run-in. “It would have been a downer if they had lost to Porto and gone into the City game, but now this keeps it ticking along beautifully,” he said. “The players grow from it, there’s a lot of confidence now.”