Arsenal 1-0 Porto (agg: 1-1, 4-2 pens): Gunners win on penalties to reach quarter-finals

Arsenal edged Porto 1-0 in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, meaning a 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 quarter-finals.

Match in brief: Arsenal taken to the wire

Ben White's early header looped just over, so it was not until the 13th minute of the second leg that Arsenal tested Diogo Costa for the first time in this tie – the Porto keeper doing enough to keep out Bukayo Saka's low drive.

Though Evanilson then twice chanced his arm from distance as the visitors grew into the game, it was the Gunners who produced the moment of magic needed to break the deadlock. Martin Ødegaard was the architect, showing exquisite skill and deftness of touch to play in Trossard, who cut inside and passed a delightful right-footed shot into the far corner.

Leandro Trossard celebrates his openerArsenal FC via Getty Images

Tension rose in line with the stakes after half-time, though the game did briefly break into life midway through the second half when Ødegaard thought he had dinked in the second, only for his goal to be disallowed. Francisco Conceição led a Porto raid moments later, unleashing a fierce shot which was smartly parried by Raya. It was not to be the keeper's most telling intervention.

Late substitute Gabriel Jesus nearly made an immediate impact off the bench, only for Diogo Costa to get his angles right and save with his legs. He was back to using more conventional methods to keep out Saka moments later, even if he did then find himself helpless as he watched Ødegaard put the rebound just wide.

Into extra time we went for the first time in a Champions League tie since the 2021/22 semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City. Both teams kept their cards close to their chests for much of the extra 30 minutes, Otávio's block to deny Saka as close as either side went to what would surely have been the clincher.

It was left to Raya to have the final say, though, repelling both Wendell and, decisively, Galeno, to send the Premier League leaders through to the last eight.

PlayStation® Player of the Match: David Raya (Arsenal)

"Responsible for the small details that win these ties. Made fingertip saves to send Arsenal through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

David Raya with his Player of the Match awardUEFA via Getty Images

Joe Terry, Arsenal reporter

This Porto side, so tough and exceptionally drilled by Sérgio Conceição, were never going to roll over lightly, so it took 120 minutes plus penalties to finally crack them open. Arteta will be delighted with the way his players kept trying to play the aggressive, dynamic football he demands and the whole squad will have learned a lot about their character. This was Champions League football at its most demanding and a huge test for this still-developing team to pass.

Carlos Machado, Porto reporter

Porto so nearly made history by eliminating Arsenal. Though they fell so agonisingly short, the Dragons demonstrated every element of the DNA which makes them so feared in this competition. They once again showed a great capacity to live with one of the very best teams in Europe. This time it was Arsenal, who, as expected, applied more pressure than in Portugal, but still failed to engineer many chances. Only penalties could separate the sides.

Reaction

David Raya, Player of the Match: "The team played really, really well. The main thing is that we kept a clean sheet, but we scored a goal and got through. It means everything to be in the quarter-finals; you play football for these kinds of things. I'm over the moon."

Bukayo Saka, Arsenal forward: "I knew it was going to be a special night here. The fans gave us everything and we gave them everything back. David Raya was brilliant; credit to him, he basically won us the game with those two stops."

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: "I'm so happy. 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."

Pepe, Porto defender: "Firstly, I'd like to thank the fans. It's incredible what they did tonight. Secondly, it's a shame to be eliminated like that, but that's part of football. We were a team that gave Arsenal a hard time, starting with our home game."

Key stats

• This is the first time Arsenal have advanced from a round of 16 tie in their last eight attempts; the most recent was also against Porto, in 2009/10.
• This was only the second time Arsenal had been taken to extra time of a Champions League tie; they beat Roma on penalties in the other, in the 2008/09 round of 16.
• Porto have now lost 19 of their 22 UEFA competition matches in England (D3); they have failed to score in nine of the last ten.
• Arsenal have kept eight clean sheets in their last nine UEFA competition matches at home.
• Arsenal have won their last four Champions League home games, scoring 13 goals and conceding none in the process.
• Trossard's goal was Arsenal's first in the Champions League knockout stage since Theo Walcott opened the scoring in a 5-1 home defeat by Bayern in March 2017.
• Pepe, the fifth-oldest player in Champions League history, is the first outfielder to make an appearance in the competition at the age of 41.

Pepe's latest appearance came at the age of 41 years and 15 daysGetty Images

Fantasy star performers

David Raya: 10 points
Ben White: 9 points
Gabriel: 8 points
Leandro Trossard: 8 points

Line-ups

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior (Zinchenko 106); Ødegaard, Rice, Jorginho (Jesus 83); Saka, Havertz, Trossard (Nketiah 106)

FC Porto: Diogo Costa; João Mário (Jorge Sánchez 85), Pepe, Otávio, Wendell; Nico González (Stephen Eustáquio 101), Varela (Grujić 90+7); Pepê; Francisco Conceição (Gonçalo Borges 101), Galeno; Evanilson (Taremi 88)