13 March 2024 , 08:48
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Thierry Henry was so confident that David Raya would save the decisive penalty against Porto that he WALKED OFF.
The Frenchman was part of the punditry team for CBS on Thursday evening for Arsenal’s success against the Portuguese side. Leandro Trossard had levelled the tie in the first-half to cancel out the visitors’ first-leg advantage.
Raya then stepped forward in the resultant penalty shootout by saving efforts from Wendell and Galeno, while the Gunners scored all of their penalties to secure a 4-2 success. Shortly before the decisive kick from Galeno, Henry had an amusing reaction.
Footage shared from inside of the CBS studio showed the ex-Arsenal man walk swiftly towards the exit, while saying “he misses”. Once Raya had denied the Porto star, Henry’s colleagues Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards erupted into celebrations.
Henry explained his actions during the post-match analysis. He said: “The way he put the ball down, it looked suspicious to me. So I left.” Carragher then offered his view and replied: “That man knows ball.”
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While Henry was full of confidence in Raya’s penalty-saving ability, the Arsenal goalkeeper was critical of himself after the game. Despite saving two efforts, he claimed that he should have stopped a third after getting a hand to Marko Grujic’s kick.
Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “I should have saved three! I should have saved the other one... but obviously over the moon to save two penalties in the Champions League to get to the quarter-finals.”
Thierry Henry walked out of the box before David Raya saved Galeno's penalty (@CBSSports)Who was Arsenal's man-of-the-match vs Porto? Share your thoughts in the comments below
The goalkeeper added: “We played a really, really good game from the start, we dominated and created chances but it went down to penalties. We’ve been working a lot on penalties this year, because on nights like this we need to be really, really good.
“All the hard work with the goalkeeping coach and with the team has paid off, obviously it’s a great moment personally and collectively.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Raya after the game, and claimed he was always confident in his abilities in helping the Gunners reach the quarter-finals. He said: “I didn’t have to see him today, I was convinced that was going to be the case.
“You see him those first few days here, what he had to go through and how he did it with that composure. You look at his body language and the decisions that he takes, he doesn’t get very affected. That’s a key quality for that position.”
Arsenal will now turn their attention to Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals. Bayern Munich , PSG , Real Madrid , Man City, Barcelona could be among their potential opponents - all of the five having already progressed from their last-16 ties.
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