Raya’s great night

Arsenal goalkeeper David saves twice in tie-breaker against Porto to take Gunners into quarters; reveals he’s been working on penalties a lot this year

David Raya’s penalty heroics against Porto sent Arsenal through to the Champions League quarter-finals—but also settled the debate over who is the club’s first-choice goalkeeper. The Spain stopper dived full length to tip Wendell’s spot kick onto his left-hand post and also saved from Galeno as Arsenal progressed to the last eight 4-2 on spot-kicks on Tuesday. 

Dramatic shootout

The dramatic shootout under the lights at the Emirates came with the teams locked at 1-1 on aggregate after extra time of a scrappy, tense encounter. Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard scored in the 41st minute to level the tie after Porto had won the first leg in Portugal with a last-gasp goal.

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But neither side could find a winner as a Champions League knockout match went to penalties for the first time in eight years. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta raised eyebrows when he brought Raya to the club on a loan deal from Brentford last August to compete with established No. 1 Aaron Ramsdale. 

There was a feeling in some quarters that there was no problem to fix—with England international Ramsdale a firm favourite among fans. Raya admitted it was a “great feeling” to help Arsenal reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010—ending a miserable run of seven straight defeats at the last-16 stage.

‘I should’ve saved three’

“We’ve been working a lot on penalties this year because on a night like this you need to be good and the hard work has paid off. It’s a great night. I should have saved three, but I’m over the moon to save two and get through to the quarter-finals,” he told TNT Sports.

Arteta insulted my family: Conceicao

Porto coach Sergio Conceicao accused Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta of insulting his family on Tuesday.  “During the game, he [Arteta] turned to the bench and insulted my family in Spanish,” said Conceicao. Arteta refused to comment on the issue, when asked later.

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