In the last 7 times that Arsenal qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League, one thing was clear each time – Arsenal would be knocked out in the round of 16. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners previously reached the eighth place in the Champions League 7 times in a row and this season, they returned to the knockout stage for the first time since 2016/17. The main difference is that for the first time since 2009/10, Arsenal have made it past the last eight.
The Londoners registered an exciting qualification to the quarterfinals of the champions, for the first time since the 2009/10 season, when they were eliminated against Barcelona in the quarterfinals, after 6:3 on aggregate. This is an emotional rehearsal by Arsenal, and judging by the reaction of the crowd and the celebrations at the end, its meaning for the English is just as enormous.
“David Raya is the hero of Arsenal”, wrote the British “Daily Mail”, he stopped two big penalties that went to his left side and at the end he was swallowed up in a sea of Arsenal players, who came to celebrate the victory with him. There’s going to be a lot of focus in the coming days on Arteta’s decision to bring Raya back to goal.”
The British “Mirror” also commented on the goalkeeper: “He experienced a difficult start to his time at Arsenal in the past, but tonight he became a hero.” The well-known website went on to refer to the curse that was broken tonight in the Emirates: “Arsenal knew it had to end the streak of relegations to stay in the competition and it did exactly that. Arteta’s young team continues to overcome its obstacles and tonight the Gunners can keep their hopes for the title this season.”
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“kept the hopes for the title”. Evidence (GETTY)
The hero of the game himself, Raya, commented on his team’s exciting qualification: “This is a big moment for me and for the team. I am happy that I stopped two penalties and helped Arsenal advance to the quarter. They made it difficult for us, but we scored the goal we needed. Apart from the physical aspect, it was also difficult Mentally, because we had to be focused throughout the evening.”
“It’s worth everything to me,” Raya continued, “we play football just for these moments and I’m lucky that I’m an Arsenal player, that I’m in the Champions League and that we’re in the quarter-finals. We’re going to enjoy tonight. It’s my first time in the Champions League, happy that our hard work has finally paid off end”.
On the other side of the fray, Pepe, Porto’s keeper, scored a feat tonight when he became the first player in history to play in the Champions League at the age of 40. In other words, Pepe tonight became the oldest player to ever play in the Champions League. The age, combined with Porto’s inability to go far in the championships, may indicate that this is the last time we will see Pepe under the champions’ banner.