Arsenal beats a Porto team grown in Pepe's castle on penalties

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The leader of the Premier couldn't beat Pepe.

For 120 long minutes, Arsenal became entangled between the lines governed by this defender who at 41 years old shone with a poise, a skill and a solvency that he did not have in his exalted youth.

Arsenal crashed against their Porto team, a rock of generous, tenacious and flexible players in their incessant mobility.

Arteta's team entered the match with a calculating spirit.

So much patience sent him into a spiral of anxiety.

Before their terrified fans, the drama of extra time and the penalty shootout took place, resolved by two saves by the Spanish David Raya.

ARSArsenal

1

David Raya, Gabriel, Jakub Kiwior (Zinchenko, min. 105), William Saliba, Ben White, Jorginho (Gabriel Jesus, min. 82), Odegaard, Declan Rice, Trossard (Eddie Nketiah, min. 105), Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka

OPO Porto

0

Diogo Costa, Joao Mario (Jorge Sánchez, min. 85), Wendell, Otávio, Pepe, Alan Varela, Francisco Conceição (Gonçalo Borges, min. 101), Pepê, Wanderson Galeno, Nico González (Stephen Eustáquio, min. 101) and Evanilson (Mehdi Taremi, min. 88)

Goals

1-0 min.

40: Trossard.

Referee

Clément Turpin

Yellow cards William Saliba (min. 38), Arteta (min. 68), Pepe (min. 72), Marceneiro da Conceição (min. 78) and Kai Havertz (min. 116)

Porto stepped onto the Emirates with the caution of an intruder.

Little by little, he discovered reasons to feel welcomed.

Arteta, who has one of the squads best equipped for pressure in the opposing half, deployed the most conservative version of it.

As if instead of overturning the 1-0 in the first leg he needed to defend a 0-1, the coach lined up Jorginho as a pivot and Rice, another pivot, as an inside left.

He sacrificed mobility in search of passing security and a sense of order.

He moved Trossard to the far left and instead of sending a mass advance pressure, he preferred to reserve a man or two in the rearguard, so as not to be discovered.

Pepe, Varela and Aquino didn't take long to string clean passes towards their forwards.

Oxygenated by the unexpected warmth of their rival, Porto found themselves in their element.

Sergio Conceiçao's team, an experienced concrete wall builder, played as if nothing would happen.

He multiplied the back passes and, when he found that spaces were being freed up for him, he advanced.

This is how Evanilson provoked a stretch from Raya after a rapid advance led by Aquino and Conceiçao.

It was the best chance of the first half hour of the game.

Inflamed like the teams that concentrate their energy on resisting, every minute that the visiting goal remained intact charged Porto with conviction.

Pepe and his teammates celebrated each duel won by encouraging each other.

The wall grew thicker when Odegaard took the first divided ball that his teammates in midfield won.

Conceiçao had foreseen it.

His platoon coordinated their pressure movements on the area occupied by the Norwegian.

The news has spread throughout Europe: Odegaard is the most imaginative, complete and clever player on the London team.

The Helmsman

Aquino, Nico González and Varela caged him in turns.

Also in the 44th minute, when Odegaard received that contested ball in midfield.

He seemed far from Diogo Costa's goal.

He seemed surrounded.

But suddenly, quick as anyone to conceive the most damaging action, he saw Trossard to the left of him and transformed a slot into a highway of advance.

Trossard returned the pass and Odegaard, harassed by Aquino, who fouled him, replaced the ball in the area with a surgeon's touch.

It was almost a penalty.

Trossard, whose activity had helped his teammates all over the field, did not forgive Costa.

The tie was tied at 1-0 near halftime.

In the end, it turned out to be the most important goal of the tie.

But Arsenal had a desert left to cross.

To the quarterfinals, 14 years later

Arteta resisted replacing Havertz – outplayed by Pepe in every action – in the same way that he brought Gabriel Jesús into the tie very late.

The two decisions contributed to clogging the game of an Arsenal that was overly dependent on Odegaard's initiative.

Minutes passed.

Pepe infected his colleagues with conviction.

The extra time passed.

The penalties arrived.

Raya's hand saved Arsenal.

The goalkeeper, on loan from Brentford, stopped two shots very close to his left post.

Wendell first, and Galeno later, at mid-height, executed two impeccable shots.

Raya reacted like a fortune teller and cleared both shots.

The goalkeeper celebrated the passage to the quarterfinals by hugging Arteta, who went looking for him to point him out to the stands as the providential hero.

The author of the escape.

“For seven years we were not in this competition,” Arteta said;

“and we hadn't reached the quarterfinals for 14 years.

That explains the difficulty of what we have done.”

Conceiçao denounces Arteta

Sergio Conceiçao appeared distraught in the Emirates conference room.

The Portuguese coach accused Arteta of verbal aggression.

“During the game he addressed my bench and I don't know if this has anything to do with the Spanish coaches, but he insulted my family.

When the game ended I told him not to bring my family between us.

“He should concentrate on training because he has a lot of individual talents to do it.”

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