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Arsenal ended their Champions League last-16 curse after 14 years with a dramatic 4-2 penalty-shootout victory over Porto in the second leg of their last-16 matchup, following a 1-1 tie on aggregate.
The Gunners trailed 1-0 after the first leg, thanks to Galeno’s wonder strike, and were not at their best in the first 45 minutes, but Leandro Trossard’s crisp finish leveled the tie on aggregate.
No goals were scored in a nail-biting second half or in the extra 30 minutes, but David Raya was the Gunners’ 12-yard hero, saving from Wendell and Galeno as Arsenal remained perfect from the spot, advancing to the last eight of Europe’s elite tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
As Porto stuck with the same starting lineup as in the first game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta substituted Jorginho for the injured Gabriel Martinelli, while Raya, unsurprisingly, demoted Aaron Ramsdale to the bench
Inside the Emirates, the Gunners, unsurprisingly, started the game on the front foot and tested Diogo Costa in the 13th minute; the Portuguese goalkeeper saved Bukayo Saka’s feeble effort before Martin Odegaard’s low drive rippled the side net.
However, Arteta’s side lacked a sense of urgency moving forward, and Porto surprisingly had greater control of the ball in the early stages, as well as Arsenal just where they wanted them.
Top scorer Evanilson had a couple of chances, hitting wide in the 16th minute and forcing Raya into a diving save in the 23rd, and Sergio Conceicao’s side was not hesitant to press their opponents high in search of a larger aggregate advantage.
The Dragons’ gamesmanship and delays began early, and they were doing an excellent job of upsetting the home crowd, but a moment of playmaking brilliance led to Emirates’ lift-off in the 41st minute.
After winning a second ball high up the pitch, Odegaard connected with Trossard on the left side, sneaking his teammate in with a brilliant eye-of-the-needle pass before the Belgian finished coolly through Pepe’s legs to the far corner.
Trossard’s goal brought Arsenal level in the tie, making him only the third Gunners player after Saka and Alexis Sanchez to score in each of their first three Champions League home games, and the hosts resumed where they left off in the second half.
The men in red continued to struggle for clear-cut chances, forcing a series of coerners but failing to convert.
They also gave up a free kick in the 64th minute from a great position, but Francisco Conceicao’s shot washigh, wide, and unappealing.
In contrast, Odegaard had the ball in the net with a wonderful dink in the 67th minute, courtesy to a miscommunication between Pepe and Costa. However, referee Clement Turpin noticed a shirt tug from Kai Havertz on Pepe and properly disqualified him. Three minutes later, a Porto three-on-three finieshed with Raya fumbling a powerful dive from Conceicao at Evanilson’s feet but Jakub Kiwior made a spectacular last-ditch block to deny the striker before the offside flag was waved.
Arteta did not move his pack until the final ten minutes, when he replaced the lanky Jorginho with Gabriel Jesus, and the Brazilian nearly made the difference with his first touch, but Costa made himself huge at his near post and deflected the ball behind.
The entrance of Jesus injected new energy into the Gunners, who also saw the hitherto quiet Saka test Costa with a curling effort in the 85th minute, and Odegaard agonisingly misses the rebound from outside the area.
In additional time, the Gunners captain went down in the box under pressure from Pepe, but Turpin saw nothing wrong with the action, and Porto midfielder Alan Varela – a non-stop runner across both legs – was strechered out just as the final whistle sounded an extra 30 minutes.
Arsenal beat Porto in penalty shootout to advance to Champions League quarter-finals
The first half of extra time passed without incident, and except from a feeble deflection Galeno strike that dropped into Raya’s glad grasp, the second 15 minutes were the same as the dreadful penalties.
After Odegaard, the attacking Pepe, and Havertz all scored, Raya tipped left-back Wendell’s shot onto the post and he breathed a sigh of relief when the ball ricochet back off the post onto his legs but rolled away.
Saka, Marko Grujic, and Declan Rice maintained their composure, but Porto’s first-leg hero was prevented by Arsenal’s second leg hero, as Raya palmed Galeno’s shot away, igniting Emirates joy.
Arsenal ends their run of seven consecutive last-16 eliminations, joining Real Madrid, Manchester City, FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the last eight, with two of Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and PSV Eindhoven completing the intriguing quarter-final selection on Wednesday night.
