Frustrated Kai Havertz shoves Porto manager Sergio Conceicao and four other things you may have missed from Arsenal win
ARSENAL ended their Champions League hoodoo on a glorious night at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
The Gunners are through to the quarter finals of the competition for the first time since 2010 thanks to a nervy penalty shoot-out victory against Porto.
Leandro Trossard brought the tie level with a strike just before half-time, while Martin Odegaard had a winner ruled out after the break due to a foul in the build-up.
It was Odegaard who stepped up and scored a penalty however, alongside Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice – while David Raya saved efforts from Wendell and Galeno.
Mikel Arteta’s side find out their quarter final and semi-final opponents on Friday as they begin to dream of reaching the final at Wembley on June 1.
Here are five things you may have missed on a memorable night in North London…
ARTETA’S INJURY TIME REACTION
Arsenal had got themselves back into the tie with Trossard’s slotted finish into the far corner after Odegaard’s delightful assist into the box.
Porto had spent most of the half trying to wind down the clock and disrupt the flow of the game with several players going down injured.
It was a surprise to the Emirates faithful then that the fourth official held up his board to show just one minute of added time.
Arteta looked at the board in utter disbelief. It is rare to see the Spaniard so perplexed by a decision such as injury time, but Porto’s tactics were clearly taking its toll on him.
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Assistant Albert Stuivenberg had a word with the fourth official to no avail. In the end, Arsenal did the job on penalties, but the game could have gone even longer into the night.
HAVERTZ GETTING PHYSICAL
He may have scored a decisive penalty in the shoot-out, but Havertz endured a frustrating evening leading the line for Arsenal.
Porto defended well, including 41-year-old veteran Pepe, and Havertz could not find a way through – mainly because he was getting kicked and barged left, right and centre.
There was one incident in the second half when he was kicked in the abdomen.
The German had clearly had enough when he ran off the pitch into the Porto technical area in an attempt to retrieve a ball and collided with Porto manager Sergio Conceicao before pushing him backwards.
Conceicao reacted angrily, trying to confront Havertz and gesturing towards him before several Porto players ganged up on Havertz. The referee soon defused the situation.
ZINCHENKO’S PEP TALK WITH NKETIAH
Mid-way through extra-time, Arteta turned to his bench with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Eddie Nketiah stripped and ready to come on in the 105th minute.
Before the pair did however, Zinchenko turned away from the pitch and faced Nketiah before putting his hands around the back of the striker’s neck and rested his forehead on his for several seconds.
One can only imagine there were some last-minute words of encouragement and inspiration, especially for a player in Nketiah who has had such little game time recently.
Since the turn of the year, the English striker has featured for just 88 minutes in all competitions before a brief cameo against Porto.
Who knows whether he would have taken Arsenal’s fifth penalty, but he did create a chance for Gabriel Jesus as soon as he came on – the Brazilian seeing his effort saved.
CONCEICAO’S KISS-KISS BACKFIRE
Porto winger Francisco Conceicao was a nuisance to Arsenal the entire night – whether it was his threatening runs down the right or the ease at which he went down under tackles.
The home fans enjoyed giving the little Portuguese winger grief whenever he got on the ball, and even more so when he was subbed off in the 101st minute.
But as Conceicao left the pitch and headed towards the away bench, he made kissing motions with his lips towards those Arsenal fans directly behind the dug-out.
It infuriated a group of Gunners momentarily, but they ended up having the last laugh.
ODEGAARD’S LUCKY COIN
Before the penalty shoot-out began, two things needed to be decided by the toss of a coin – the end at which the penalties would be taken and who would shoot first.
Referee Clement Turpin stood with Odegaard and Porto skipper Pepe on the half-way line and proceeded with his coin tosses.
It turns out that Odegaard won both the tosses – choosing to shoot towards the Emirates North Bank, the opposite end to the away fans, and take the first penalty.
As well as incredible skill and a machine-like stamina, the Norwegian also has luck on his side, which is never a bad thing in these tight, edgy European encounters.
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