Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has discussed the moment his team sealed a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Arsenal‘s Champions League dream continues after a slight scare from FC Porto in the round of 16. The Portuguese side won the first leg late on through a Galeno strike that caught everyone off guard, following a tough 90 minutes.
The second leg at the Emirates Stadium brought about plenty of hope for a turnaround from the Gunners though. They gave themselves the best chance possible as Leandro Trossard scored to bring the scores level on aggregate.
Arsenal couldn’t find a breakthrough for the winning goal though, following both regulation time and extra time. Penalties were required to split the two teams, with David Raya’s heroics ensuring Mikel Arteta‘s side made the quarter-finals.
Bukayo Saka message
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka discussed the win after the match, sending a clear message to the fans about the tie. He told TNT Sports: “Tonight was beautiful. I’ve said in my interviews before that I already knew it was going to be a special night here and the fans gave us everything and we gave them everything back, so we’re all happy tonight.”
Arsenal’s road to redemption
It was only just over three-years ago that Saka sat in despair on the pitch following another difficult performance under Arteta. The winger took to Instagram to say: “You deserve more Arsenal fans,” at the time.
Fast forward to the present day, and Saka is delivering on that with his own performances as well as with the team. It seems a long time since those difficult days were around for the Gunners, with the transformation clear for all to see.
There will be time to enjoy the progress, especially in reaching the latter stages of the Champions League with the fans on board. However, there’s still plenty more growing to be had and trophies to win in the coming months and years.
Champions League next round
With Arsenal booking their place in the next round of the Champions League, the attention turns towards the teams they could draw. Those potential opponents include Manchester City, PSG, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and either Atletico Madrid or Internazionale and Borussia Dortmund or PSV Eindhoven.
The draw takes place on Friday, March 15 and the Gunners will learn both their quarter-final route and their potential semi-final challenge. The competition is nearing the end and Arsenal will be hoping it’s them alone that will lift the trophy in May.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
