Thanks to a penalty shootout victory over FC Porto on Tuesday night, the Gunners advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, proving that their training is paying off. After extra time, the aggregate scores were tied at 1, hence penalties were necessary to decide the match. Wendell and Galeno both had shots from 12 yards out, but Raya stepped up to the challenge and sent Arsenal through.

After the game, though, Raya expressed her dissatisfaction to TNT Sports. Not only did he assist with Marko Grujic’s penalty, but he also admitted that he thought he could have saved it.

“I should have saved three, but I’m over the moon to save two,” remarked the man. We started the game out well and never let up. Our dominance and creation of scoring opportunities led to a penalty shootout. We’ve put in a lot of time and effort with the goalie coach and the squad, and our efforts on penalties this year have been fruitful.

“This means everything,” he emphasized. Playing for Arsenal, being a part of the Champions League, and advancing to the quarterfinals are all incredible opportunities; I consider myself very fortunate to be a football player. Let’s simply savor the evening.Mikel Arteta’s choice to acquire the 28-year-old Raya in the summer and make him his starting goalkeeper instead of Aaron Ramsdale was further justified by Raya’s match-winning performance. In regular time, Raya made three stops in addition to his penalty heroics.

Stunningly, the Champions League semifinal match on Tuesday was the first to go to penalties since the 2016 final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Celebrating their first Champions League quarterfinal appearance in 14 years, Arsenal will now excitedly await their quarterfinal opponent. Barcelona was the location. Besides Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, two teams from Atletico Madrid, Inter, PSV Eindhoven, and Borussia Dortmund will join them in the league following Wednesday’s games.