By Taiwo Ibrahim
Mikel Arteta was full of praise for his Arsenal players after they defeated Porto 4-2 to on penalties to qualify for the quarter finals of the Champions League, Sportivationng.com reports.
The Gunners won the regulation time 1-0 to even the tie and the extra time ended the same so the tie went into penalties as David Raya became the hero with two penalty saves.
Arteta described it as a magic night after their first quarter final qualification since 2010.
“A magic night. We expected a really tough opponent. It’s very difficult to generate momentum and that’s credit to (Porto),” Arteta told reporters.
“It’s a huge experience for us. We had to do it as well through penalties. Credit to (goalkeeper) David (Raya) who had some difficult moments to start but showed incredible determination and stood up and got rewarded.”
“It has been 14 years, which is a long time for a club like Arsenal and it shows how difficult it was,”
“We really had to dig in to find the magic moment at the end. We’re starting to create an unbelievable energy in the stadium, we were all pushing to get it done and together we have done it.”
Arteta also credited the club’s fans for creating an intimidating atmosphere for the opponents.
Arteta said: “Thank you so much, we absolutely love them, the energy they gave, how positive they were, how they contributed.”
“They made us win, it’s as simple as that.
Arsenal have enjoyed an impressive run of form since the turn of the year, winning eight consecutive Premier League games to go top of the log.
Up next for the Gunners is a trip to Manchester City after the international break on March 31st.
