David Raya proved the hero as Arsenal survived a penalty shootout to scrape past Porto and reach the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time in 14 years after a tense Round-of-16 duel had ended 1-1 on aggregate on Tuesday.

Porto, who won the opening leg 1-0, proved stubborn opposition for the Premier League leaders and Arsenal fans must have feared another night of European heartache.

But Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice all tucked away their spot kicks with clinical precision and Arsenal keeper Raya made two saves.

He got the slightest of touches to send Wendell’s effort against the post and then saved Galeno’s penalty to send Arsenal through 4-2 in the shootout and spark wild celebrations.

Leandro Trossard’s goal shortly before halftime had levelled the tie but Arsenal struggled to break down a disciplined Porto side who produced a defensive masterclass.

Extra time failed to separate the sides but Mikel Arteta’s team held their nerve to snap a run of seven successive exits at the last-16 stage. The last time they reached the quarter finals in 2010 they also beat Porto in the last 16 and they will go into Friday’s draw full of confidence that they can go further.

“For them to do it when the club hasn’t done it for 14 years that tells you the difficulty,” Arteta, whose side have won eight successive Premier League games to edge ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool, told reporters.

“They are willing to sacrifice anything to win.”

After the shoot-out had been won and Arsenal’s victory was secured, Arteta threw his arms around his goalkeeper and turned towards the home fans.

He did something similar with Kai Havertz earlier this season, after a late winner at Brentford. On both occasions the message to the supporters was the same: show your love to this man.

“A great moment, personally and collectively,” Raya said. “I am over the moon.

“This means everything. You play football for these kinds of things and I am lucky to be playing for Arsenal, to be in the Champions League and to get through to the quarter finals.”

‘Unfair criticism’

Barcelona reached the quarter finals for the first time in four years after a thrilling 3-1 home win over Napoli gave them a deserved 4-2 aggregate victory on Tuesday.

Early goals by Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo set the hosts on their way and, after Amir Rrahmani cut the deficit before the break, Robert Lewandowski wrapped up the win with a late third.

Napoli had never beaten Barca in their previous five meetings and it turned out to be a repeat of the 2020 Champions League meeting with a 3-1 home win for the Spanish side after a 1-1 draw in Naples.

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez had the last laugh after his side defied the critics to reach the quarters.

Barcelona, who are third in La Liga, have struggled for consistency this season and Xavi announced in January that he would leave the club at the end of the season.

“We have received unfair criticism,” Xavi told reporters.

“There has been too much pressure on the players like ultimatums, life or death. I even read that we were the joke of the Champions League. And now what?”

“It’s a more than deserved qualification, it’s one of my best moments as Barcelona coach. We can be proud because we are one of the best eight teams in Europe.”

The Daily Telegraph in London and Reuters