In a thrilling match for the Gooners, Arsenal overcame Porto four goals to two in extra time as they progressed to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. European football was revealed to be a highly contested affair.

There was hope at the Emirates Stadium for the first time in seven seasons competing at this tier. The moment when the fans were about to hear the Champions League anthem echo all over the stadium, they arrived. It had been more than ten years since such events occurred in the northern part of London.

Porto had taken a slim lead of 1-0 from the first leg. Nevertheless, they could not preserve their advantage as Leandro Trossard netted one of those shots that are easy to take just three minutes before half time thanks to Martin Ode-gaard’s assist. Both teams had opportunities but couldn’t score within normal time, therefore resulting in extra hours of tension with no resolved winner.

However, the warning was not taken into account by Arsenal because few minutes later their defense allowed Evanilson to have enough space in the box where he effortlessly coordinated a pass for a shot on target that would have been saved but Raya’s incredible intelligence.

Despite dominating initially, Porto was improving over time, and with five minutes left in the first half, they destroyed everything away. The team did well for the first forty minutes of the game.

A great ball from Odegaard saw Trossard free in a favorable position within the box; then, he calmly guided the ball into the far corner of the goal.

After being filled with anticipation and noise all through before kick-off, The Emirates finally burst out.

This seemed to spur on Mikel Arteta’s side in the second half, although Porto appeared to be growing more comfortable with their approach of sitting back and dealing with the pressure.

The home team had its moment when Pepe made a mess of defending against a long pass and allowed Odegaard to lob it into an empty net.

But VAR disallowed the goal following a brief review of an alleged foul on Diogo Costa – one of those decisions people may call soft ones in such tournaments as this season’s.

The Spaniard coach appeared angry just like he deserved after that call which earned him a caution card for dissent.

Despite focusing on defence, Porto seemed to have attacking threat which was exhibited by player such as F. Conceicao who made a fast attack and shot at Raya, only for him to be easily caught.

The pressure from Arsenal was sustained while they continued getting opportunities that would have seen them win the match outright, but at this point, it seemed more likely that the game would require an additional thirty minutes.

After an exciting game that lasted ninety minutes, there was little action during added time except for a moment in which Kai Havertz caused a fight between Porto coach Sergio Conceição and himself at the side of the field.

Then there was a decisive factor during the penalty shootout, which was Arsenal’s home advantage. The two players were under too much pressure from the crowd who sang their manager a farewell song “Super Mik Arteta” as they waved their red and white scarves; as a result, they failed to stay focused and missed their penalties, costing Porto dearly.