Thursday 28 / November / 2024
London : Following Arsenal's win over FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) at the Emirates Stadium in London, the Gunners' head coach Mikel Arteta said that it was difficult to generate constant momentum against the visitors.
While speaking at the pre-match press conference, Arteta showered praise on Porto and said that they were a "tough opponent".
The Spanish coach added that they were prepared for the penalties against FC Porto.
When asked about David Raya, the head coach said that the Arsenal goalie had faced a few setbacks earlier in the game but stood up later.
"Magic, what we expected, a really tough opponent, really well organised, very difficult to generate constant momentum in the game in the way they play and that's credit to them. We did it, we scored a beautiful goal, they insisted in different ways, in the way the game allowed as well, and it's such a huge experience for us. We had to do it at the end with the penalties, we prepared well, and credit to the coaches as well for the way they did it and obviously for David [Raya]. He had some difficult moments to start but he stood up, had an incredible personality and ambition, and at the end he got rewarded with his moment," Arteta was quoted by Arsenal's official website as saying.
Arteta said that Raya is a "quality" goalkeeper and that can be seen in his body language.
"I don't have to see him today, I was very convinced that was going to be the case. You see in the first few days here and what he had to go through and how he did it with that composure. You look at his body language, and the position that he takes, he doesn't get very affected and that's a key quality for a goalkeeper," he added.
Recapping the match, Arsenal's goalie Raya was the 'Player of the Match', saving two spot-kicks as Arsenal beat Porto 4-2 on penalties to move to the next round of the UCL.
Leandro Trossard made the first breakthrough of the match in the 41st minute of the first half and levelled the aggregate 1-1. Martin Odegaard found Trossard in the box, who placed the ball into the far corner of the box and gave Arsenal a crucial lead in the first half.
As the game continued, the atmosphere got hotter, with both the managers booked for poor behaviour on the sidelines as the game moved into extra time.
After the final whistle, the game moved to the penalties to decide a winner, with Raya proving the difference between the two teams by saving first from Wendell and then Wenderson Galeno's spot kick. Odegaard, Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice were the scorers for Arsenal in the penalty shootout. Meanwhile, For Porto, only Pepe, and Marko Grujic managed to get the back of the net ending the penalty at 4-2 for the Gunners.
