"He has stood up with incredible personality" - Mikel Arteta lauds Arsenal star for his heroics against Porto
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on David Raya following his performance in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 win over FC Porto on March 12.
The Gunners came into the second leg of the clash at the Emirates trailing 1-0. They opened the scoring in the 41st minute after Leandro Trossard got on an excellent pass from Martin Odegaard and scored past Diogo Costa. Both sides created a few opportunities but failed to score in 90 minutes.
With the scores level at 1-1, the game went into extra time but both teams failed to create much in the 30 minutes. The match then went to penalties, where Arsenal triumphed 4-2. David Raya made two saves in the shootout, helping his side reach the next round.
After the game, Arteta lauded Raya, saying (via Arsenal.com):
"...credit to the coaches as well for the way they did it and obviously for David [Raya]. He had some difficult moments to start but he stood up with an incredible personality and ambition, and at the end he got rewarded with his moment."
Raya also made three saves, made one high claim and completed 32/44 passes during the first 120 minutes. Further speaking about the Spaniard's performance, Arteta added:
"I don’t have to see him today, I was very convinced that was going to be the case. You see in the first few days here and what he had to go through and how he did it with that composure. You look at his body language, and the position that he takes, he doesn’t get very affected and that’s a key quality for a goalkeeper."
Raya arrived at Arsenal on a season-long loan from Brentford last summer and has kept 13 clean sheets in 29 games across competitions.
Arsenal reach Champions League quarter-finals after 14 years
The Gunners last reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2010 and had also beaten Porto that season. They were eliminated from the Round of 16 in their last seven attempts and then failed to qualify for the competition for the next seven years.
Arsenal topped their group comprising PSV Eindhoven, Sevilla and RC Lens, winning four, drawing one and losing one match. They then lost 1-0 at Porto in the first leg of their last 16 clash, courtesy of a 94th-minute strike by Galeno.
The north London side, however, turned it around at the Emirates on Tuesday to beat the Portuguese side on penalties. Despite some early pressure from Porto, the Gunners dominated the game with 59% possession. They had 4/13 attempts on target as compared to the visitors' 3/10 on target.
The Champions League quarter-finals draw will take place on Friday, March 15.