Fourteen years later, Arsenal are once again in the quarterfinals of the Champions League after beating Porto on penalties with two saves by Spanish goalkeeper David Raya. The match was very even and Mikel Arteta's team leveled Do Dragao's goal deficit with a goal from Belgian Trossard in the 42nd minute.
Arsenal came into the game as the leader of the Premier League and after a streak of eight victories. It wasn't easy at all because Sergio Conceiçao's Porto is a team that always competes to the limit, with veteran players like Pepe (41 years old) and Brazilians like Galeno and Evanilson. Taremi, the Iranian, was fresh from an injury and only played the final minutes.
Porto at no time were intimidated by an Emirates stadium prepared for the party. In the first half the Portuguese team commanded but lacked finesse up front. Arsenal moved too nervously and only offered danger with Odegaard's magic and his sporadic appearances.
When Porto was already at half-time without having moved the scoreboard, Arsenal's goal came that tied the tie thanks to an assist from Odegaard and a shot from Trossard that was surpassed by Diogo Costa.
The second half was more Arsenal's, but Porto defended without losing their composure. Saka had a bad day and neither did Gabriel Jesus, when he came out, he seemed much more successful. Porto's best chance was a shot by Conceiçao, the coach's son, which forced Raya to make a good save in two halves. By then the game already smelled like extra time.
In the 30 minutes of extra time, with both teams very tired, avoiding a goal was more important than anything else. Arsenal looked more for the opposing goal, but with very few ideas. It went to penalties and there Raya was decisive by stopping Wendell and Galeno's shots. Odegaard, Havertz, Saka and Rice scored for Arsenal.
