Arsenal v Porto: Gunners 'where we want to be' after ending 14-year wait to reach Champions League quarters

By Rilwan Musa Gawu -

 

On 9 March 2010, Nicklas Bendtner scored a penalty to seal his hat-trick in a 5-0 Arsenal win over Porto in the Champions League, as the Gunners confirmed their place in the quarter-finals by overturning a first-leg deficit.

It has taken 14 years and three days, but Arsenal are back in the Champions League last eight - with Porto, penalties and a second-leg comeback once again in the script.

This time, it was not a penalty scorer who took the headlines but a penalty saver, with David Raya denying Porto twice in a 4-2 shootout victory.

Arsenal had recovered from a last-gasp 1-0 loss in Portugal, with Leandro Trossard's goal forcing extra time in a tie often high on tension but low on quality.

But when Raya flew to his left to stop Galeno's penalty, it sparked a release of unbridled joy in Emirates Stadium, nearly a decade and a half in the making.

"It has been 14 years, which is a long time for a club like Arsenal and it shows how difficult it was," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports.

"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, we were all pushing to get it done and together we have done it."

Arsenal's 2009-10 Champions League campaign marked the end of their status as a European power.

Having dismantled Porto in the last 16, they suffered a similar fate themselves at the hands of Barcelona in the quarter-finals - including a 4-1 second-leg loss in which Lionel Messi scored all four.

With their return to the Champions League quarter-finals coming days after Arsenal went top of the Premier League, there is growing hope the Gunners are re-establishing themselves as a continental force with the mentality to win tough games on the biggest stage.




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