Mikel Arteta wasn't completely convinced Arsenal were going to win shootout against Porto on Tuesday night, after seeing some of his players fail in training before the Champions League clash.
The Gunners are in the quarter-finals after a 1-0 victory over Porto at the Emirates leveled the tie following a loss by the same score in Portugal.
That brought the tie to a penalty shootout, where Arsenal were perfect and David Raya stopped two penalties from the Portuguese side to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
It was an anxiety-inducing two matches for Arsenal and particularly the finale of the tie from the spot, with Arteta admitting that he was far from calm before the penalty kicks.
The Arsenal boss confessed that practice from 12 yards didn't go well, with several of his players missing in training.
When asked if he was confident heading into the shootout, he said: ‘No, because practicing at the training ground, some of them missed yesterday, not today.
‘We prepare everything, the extra time, the scenarios, the changes, how the players have to drink and eat and all that and in the end, you have to do it in the game, and to replicate the scenarios is really difficult. Total credit to the boys, stepping up with maturity, with that confidence and they delivered.’
It is a rare occurrence to participate in a Champions League penalty shootout and one that Arteta’s Arsenal team did not have experience of before Tuesday night.
The Spaniard is satisfied that his players now understand what it's like to deal with the pressure and believes it should benefit them in the future.
‘Probably a great experience, because that experience is much more real than what we’ve done in the last two days, just in case we had to go through that tonight,’ he said.
‘They looked really composed, the boys. The way they took the penalties was superb and David [Raya] contributed in his big way as well.’
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