Izuchukwu Okosi
Arsenal secured their passage into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 14 years after a breathtaking 4-2 penalty kick win against Porto at the Emirates stadium on Tuesday night, reports Prime Business Africa.
The Gunners who had not qualified for the quarterfinals of the competition since 2010 lost the first leg tie 1-0 away to the Portuguese side thanks to a late strike in the game.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPorto however took no prisoners as they made the Gunners earn their win in the hard way. Last season, Sporting Lisbon eliminated Mikel Arteta’s team in the Europa League competition via penalty shootout.
Both sides had numerous chances albiet Porto were more assertive even in at an away ground.
Evanilson fired two warning shots early in the first half which David Raya dealt with. Bukayo Saka also had his opportunity but could not find a breakthrough.
Leandro Trossard eventually broke the deadlock for Arsenal with a low shot fired to the bottom right corner after he was picked out by Declan Rice.
Martin Odegaard had the ball inside the net but the goal was ruled out as Kai Havertz was deemed to have pulled the jersey of an opponent on the way to releasing his captain.
The game went into extra time after both sides failed to find the back of the net in 90 minutes of football.
In the penalty shootout that ensued, Arsenal scored four of their takes from the spots through Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka while Porto lost two or their kicks to the next round of the competition.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
