By Maël Chrétien
Published yesterday at 11:49 p.m., Updated now
Arsenal in the European Top 8. ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP
Eliminated in their last seven appearances in the round of 16 of C1, the Gunners defeated the Indian sign on Tuesday, against FC Porto. They will participate in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal back in the Champions League quarter-finals. Beaten 1-0 in the first leg, the Gunners disposed of Porto by the same score in the return at the Emirates Stadium, this Tuesday, in the round of 16 second leg. And this on a goal from Leandro Trossard at the end of the first period. Enough to snatch… the extension. In the end, both teams had to go through the penalty shootout. And it was Mikel Arteta’s players who had the best in this exercise (1-0 ap, 4-2 tab).
Arsenal returns to the quarter-finals of C1 for the first time since… 2010 by overcoming the Indian sign: the Canonniers had left the door during their last seven appearances in the round of 16, from 2011 to 2017. The draw for the quarter-finals The final will take place on Friday (12 p.m.) in Switzerland. Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are among Arsenal’s potential opponents, awaiting the last two eighths on Wednesday.
Arsenal on target at half-time
From the start, the approach was not the same as during the first round for the Londoners. At home, they chose to put pressure on Sergio Conceicao’s players, who held on in the first half. Almost held his ground… At the age of 41, Pepe led his troops with courage and aggression. Saka first, then Odegaard appeared first with their left foot. Porto responded with Evanilson and Conceicao fils. But it was Arsenal who found the net, inspired by Odegaard. With a measured pass, the Norwegian found the launched Trossard, who concluded with a secure flat foot (1-0, 41st). Tie on all of the two matches at the break.
Coming back from the locker room, Arsenal had to wait a long time before having a few chances, but they had them. Arteta’s men even thought they scored the break goal through Odegaard, on the disagreement between Pepe and his goalkeeper Diogo Costa (67th). But Clément Turpin refused it because of Havertz’s too aggressive pressing on Pepe. Arsenal pushed again… in vain: extension!
Raya sends the Gunners to the quarterfinals
This extra half hour was ultimately just a gateway to the penalty shootout, a painful 30 minutes, during which the legs were heavy and the lack of lucidity was glaring. And in the small game of penalties, it was Arsenal who came out on top, thanks to the flawless performance of their shooters (Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, Rice) and the two saves by their Spanish goalkeeper, David Raya, on the shots from Wendell and… Galeno, the one who scored in the first leg.
