REPORT: Arsenal 1-0 Porto (Arsenal Win 4-2 On Penalties)

Arsenal progressed to the last eight of the Champions League for the first time in 14 years following a penalty shootout win at Emirates Stadium. David Raya saved the decisive penalty to send The Gunners through.

Leandro Trossard had levelled the tie in the first half and despite Arsenal's pressure in the second period, they couldn't find the goal that would have prevented extra time and penalties. 

Arsenal converted all four of their penalties before Raya stopped Galeno's effort to send them through. 

Trossard Breaks Through

The game started tentatively, with both sides struggling for rhythm. Ben White headed over early in the contest, before Bukayo Saka's driven run and shot was beaten away by Diogo Costa in the Porto goal.

Evanilson then tested Raya with a firm effort that the Spaniard beat away. Chances were at a premium, with Porto holding a disciplined shape but exploding into life when the opportunity presented itself. 

But in the 40th minute, Arsenal levelled the tie. Odegaard collected the ball, beat his man before playing a slide-rule pass for Trossard. The Belgian controlled, before placing a shot into the far corner of the net. 1-1 on aggregate and all to play for in the second half.

Second Half Pressure

Arsenal came out for the second half and dominated possession, but struggled to create any clear openings. In the 67th minute though, Arsenal thought they had the breakthrough to put them ahead in the contest.

Havertz raced towards a long ball and pressed Pepe who attempted to guide the ball back to his goalkeeper. The ball bounced away to Odegaard who put the ball into the unguarded net. The skipper raced away in celebration, only for the referee to rule the goal out for an alleged foul. 

Porto responded by creating an opening of their own. Conceicao drove into the Arsenal half before seeing his effort saved by Raya.

Mikel Arteta took the opportunity to bring on Gabriel Jesus, and the Brazilian almost clinched the tie with his first touch, but was denied by a smart stop by Costa. 

Arsenal had one last opportunity to kill the tie within the 90 minutes. Saka cut inside and hit a left-footed shot towards Costa, who pushed the shot away. Odegaard ran onto the rebound and hit a bouncing shot agonizingly wide. 

Heroic Raya

Extra time came and went with minimal chances throughout the additional 30 minutes. Substitute Mehdi Teremi saw his effort fly harmlessly wide, while Saka had a late attempt blocked. In truth, both sets of players looked out on their feet. 

Penalties followed. Odegaard stepped up first and set the tone for the shootout with a confident kick. Pepe levelled up the tie before Havertz regained Arsenal's advantage. It was Wendell who stepped up next, but his kick struck the post to give Arsenal the advantage. Saka, Marko Grujic and Declan Rice all scored before Raya stepped up to beat Galeno's penalty away and send Arsenal through.

All eyes now turn to Friday's Champions League draw to find out who they will face in the quarter finals. Meanwhile, Arsenal now have a 19 day wait until their next game against Manchester City on Easter Sunday.