David Raya saved 12-yard attempts from Pepe and Galeno to put Arsenal, who scored all four of their penalties at the Emirates, into the last eight. Saka was among the clinical takers for the hosts who had failed in all of their previous seven attempts to get beyond the last 16 before this.
The Premier League leaders had trailed 1-0 going into the second leg due to a 94th-minute Galeno winner in Portugal. Leandro Trossard pulled the north Londoners level before half-time in the English capital but an obdurate Porto forced the contest all the way to spot-kicks.
But Arsenal showed character to grind their way through to the next round. And Saka, flanked by club legend Keown and Ferdinand in a chat for TNT Sports, said: “Yeah I’m buzzing. It wasn’t my best performance personally but I’m so proud of the team, we showed a lot of character.
“To win on penalties is amazing for the spirit and we’re just happy to be going through. These are the games that I play football for, that I dream of. We’ve worked for years. It’s amazing. I’m looking forward to the next round.”
Former Manchester United defender Ferdinand then asked Saka: “What are you looking for now? Obviously the draw’s coming up, you’ll all be sitting there watching it I’m sure and eagerly awaiting who you’re going to get. Are you one of those guys saying ‘Listen, give us the biggest, give us the Bernabeu’ or are you saying, ‘Listen give us the weakest.’ What are you looking at?”
As the 22-year-old attacker paused for thought, Keown remarked: “Be careful with that answer!” Saka continued to carefully consider his answer and Ferdinand interjected: “I used to want the big boys.”
Saka then laughed: “I don’t want to say anything rash!” Sensing the Arsenal forward’s trouble answering the question, Keown moved the conversation along as he jumped back in with: “Let’s just say your penalty was world class.”
Champions League holders Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Barcelona and 14-time winners Real Madrid are all already into the quarter-final draw which will be conducted on Friday morning. Borussia Dortmund and PSV, and Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid, go head-to-head for the final two spots in the last eight on Wednesday night.
A buzzing Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports: “I’m so happy. It’s been 14 years – that’s a long time for a club like Arsenal not to do what we’ve done today. It shows how difficult it is. We had to really dig in and find the magic moment at the end. So proud and I’m so happy.
“That’s where we want to be. We’ve been patient and worked so hard. A lot of people made a lot of good decisions and showed a lot of courage in difficult moments. This is where we want to be.”
While goalkeeping hero Raya said: “It’s a great feeling you know. Especially for me personally – the first time in the Champions League. First time for the club in so many years to get to the quarter-finals. It’s great for the team. We played a really, really good game.
“From the start we dominated and created chances. It went down to penalties and we’ve been working a lot on penalties this year for nights like this, we need to be really, really good at them. All the hard work with the goalie coach and the team has paid off. It’s a great moment personally and collectively.
“I should’ve saved three, I should’ve saved the other one! But obviously over the moon to save two penalties in the Champions League to get through to the quarter-finals. It’s a crazy moment. It means everything. You play football for these kind of things. We’re over the moon.”
