"An incredible statistic" - Pundit blown away by what he heard about Arsenal before Porto second leg clash

Pundit Ally McCoist was stunned to find out that Arsenal had lost their last five Champions League knockout fixtures at home before facing Porto.

The Gunners managed to break this statistic as they secured a 1-0 result at the Emirates in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie against Porto on Tuesday (March 12).

With the game 1-1 on aggregate, David Raya's heroics in the penalty shootout saw the Premier League club progress into the quarter-finals (4-2 penalties). However, McCoist was taken aback upon hearing this incredible stat before the match.

The Rangers legend told TNT Sport (via The Boot Room):

“I could not believe that stat regarding Arsenal losing their last five in the UCL knockout stages at home. I thought that was an incredible statistic. But one thing you can say is their home form in general since coming back from the break has been nothing short of magnificent."

Three of those five defeats came at the hands of Bayern Munich, including the 5-1 Round-of-16 thrashing during the 2016/17 campaign (10-2 aggregate). It's fair to say that the Emirates crowd turned up against Porto to help their team across the line.

The Gunners surely didn't have time to dwell on these stats as they also find themselves in the midst of a title race. Arsenal are top of the Premier League, level on points with second-placed Liverpool and one clear of Manchester City, who are third after 28 matches.

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Mikel Arteta opens up about Arsenal's match going to penalties against Porto

Mikel Arteta is doing a stellar job at Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted he wasn't confident with the Round-of-16 clash against Porto going to penalties. In particular, he shared that some of the takers missed their spot kicks during practice.

However, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice were the players who stepped up and converted their respective penalties. Speaking after the match, Arteta said (via the club's official website):

"No, because practising in the training ground, a few of them missed by the way 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."

The Gunners have been extremely good from the spot in the league this year. They've converted all eight spot kicks awarded and are the only side to have a 100% record from the top three teams.