The last-16 monkey on Arsenal’s back had plagued the North London giants since their most recent progression to the last eight of Europe’s top tournament in 2009-10, where the Arsene Wenger-led crop recovered from a first-leg deficit against Porto with a dominant 5-0 Emirates triumph.
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Fourteen years later, the manner of Arsenal’s fightback against the Portuguese powerhouses was not so emphatic, but thanks to a pair of David Raya saves from the spot while Mikel Arteta’s outfielders remained perfect from 12 yards, the Gunners emulated their 09-10 selves and finally banished their last-16 hoodoo.
The beaten 2006 finalists now have more European demons to banish on Tuesday night – not least their recent series of humiliating Bayern batterings – as two of their last three quarter-final appearances in the Champions League have ended in elimination, the outlier being victory over Villarreal in 2008-09.
However, the Emirates vibe is arguably at its zenith since Arsenal left their Highbury home, as a stellar 3-0 Premier League win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday – their 10th win from 11 top-flight games and fourth clean sheet in a row in all tournaments – took them back to the top of the table amid the engrossing three-way fight for glory.
While equalling a club record of keeping five consecutive away clean sheets in the Premier League, Arsenal now return to their feared home on the back of six straight wins at the Emirates in all competitions, and they have won all four of their Champions League clashes on familiar territory this season without shipping a single goal.
