Arsenal 1-0 Porto (1-1 agg, 4-2 pens): Player ratings as Raya heroics see Gunners into quarter-final

  • Arsenal secured their spot in the Champions League last eight on penalties
  • Leandro Trossard's goal sent the game to extra time
  • David Raya saved two penalties to win it for the Gunners
Arsenal made it past Porto
Arsenal made it past Porto / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
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Arsenal secured their place in the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday evening, beating Porto on penalties at the Emirates Stadium.

Despite a challenging start to the game for Arsenal as they attempted to break down a resilient Porto backline and overturn a 1-0 deficit, Leandro Trossard's excellent strike just before half-time gave the Gunners the lead on the night and levelled the tie on aggregate.

Neither side was able to grab a decisive second-half or extra-time strike as the game eventually went to penalties. In the end, David Raya was the hero in north London, saving two spot kicks to help Arsenal into the final eight.


How the game unfolded

Arsenal knew that they had to be ruthless up against a defensively sound Porto team at the Emirates Stadium and it took the hosts 12 minutes to test Diogo Costa. Bukayo Saka managed to find some space down the right flank before cutting in on his favoured left foot and sending a low drive down the goalkeeper's throat.

Evanilson then fired a warning shot a foot wide of Raya's post at the other end following some sloppy play from William Saliba, with the Brazilian stinging the Arsenal goalkeeper's gloves from inside the area shortly afterwards as the visitors grew in confidence.

Despite some nervy moments in the first half for Mikel Arteta's side, they managed to grab an absolutely vital goal five minutes before the break. Martin Odegaard was the architect with a sensational touch and pass, and Trossard calmly slotted the ball through Pepe's legs and into the far corner.

Odegaard thought he had doubled Arsenal's lead with 25 minutes to play in north London after dinking over Costa following a mix-up in the Porto backline. However, the goal was chalked off by referee Clement Turpin due to Kai Havertz pulling centre-back Pepe's shirt in the build-up.

Francisco Conceicao almost produced an equaliser just a minute later after a fast breakaway, but the winger saw his powerful effort rebuffed by Raya in the Arsenal goal.

Gabriel Jesus was drafted into the match by Arteta as they pushed for a second and the forward almost rewarded his manager's decision with his first touch. The Brazilian latched on to a ricochet in the penalty area but saw his shot saved by Costa, with Odegaard also firing just wide from the edge of the area afterwards.

With Arsenal unable to add to their lead, the game would require an additional 30 minutes in which both sides struggled to create too many openings during a nervy extra-time period. That could mean only one thing: a penalty shoot-out to decide proceedings.

Raya had been flawless throughout the 120 minutes at the Emirates and took his sensational form into the shoot-out, saving spot kicks from Wendell and Galeno to send Arsenal into the Champions League quarter-final.


Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

Leandro Trossard
Trossard gave Arsenal the lead in north London / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

GK: David Raya - 9/10 - Matched everything that came his way and was a welcome return after Aaron Ramsdale's recent howler against Brentford. Proved the hero in the shoot-out.

RB: Ben White - 7/10 - Largely kept Galeno quiet down the right, with the Porto attacker most productive when drifting into central areas. A solid display from the full-back.

CB: William Saliba - 5/10 - A surprisingly poor game from the usually faultless Frenchman, who picked up a yellow in the first half for cynically hauling down Galeno. A yard off the pace on a big night.

CB: Gabriel - 6/10 - Similarly to his centre-back partner, there were one or two rushed moments from the Brazilian, who wasn't always at his sharpest.

LB: Jakub Kiwior - 7/10 - A strong defensive performance from the Polish defender, who was dominant in one-v-one battles down the left-hand side.

CM: Martin Odegaard - 8/10 - His genius helped unlock Porto's backline in the first half and he was relentless in his work off the ball. The skipper stood up when he needed to, netting the first penalty in the shoot-out.

CM: Jorginho - 5/10 - Some errant passes in the second half offered Porto a number of counter-attacking opportunities, while he often looked a little leggy when the visitors turned the ball over.

CM: Declan Rice - 7/10 - Some wicked corner deliveries into the penalty area in what was a typically combative performance from the £105m man.

RW: Bukayo Saka - 5/10 - A difficult evening for the winger, who was dealt with incredibly well by Porto left-back Wendell. He'll be disappointed not to have been more influential in the final third.

ST: Kai Havertz - 6/10 - Drifted in and out of the game and wasn't able to make any telling contributions close to the Porto goal.

LW: Leandro Trossard - 7/10 - Showed fantastic composure to give Arsenal the lead before the break and showed great energy throughout.


Substitutes

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (83' for Jorginho) - 6/10

SUB: Eddie Nketiah (106' for Trossard) - 6/10

SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (106' for Kiwior) - 5/10

Subs not used: Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Karl Hein (GK), Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mohamed Elneny, Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson.


Manager

Mikel Arteta - 5/10 - Not a convincing display from his side, who struggled to cope with the nerves on the big stage. In the end, they needed penalties to progress from what was, on paper, a fairly straightforward tie.


Player of the match - David Raya (Arsenal)


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