Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney left stunned after hearing stat about Arsenal in the Champions League

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Fulham’s Tom Cairney was left stunned after hearing a stat about Arsenal in the Champions League.

Arsenal triumphed over Porto on Tuesday evening thanks to David Raya’s heroics in a penalty shoot-out.

It was a memorable night for Arsenal’s supporters in what is their first season back in the Champions League since the 2016-17 campaign.

But in what is a more surprising statistic, the win saw Mikel Arteta’s side reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 2010.

And after hearing this from West Ham’s Michail Antonio, Fulham skipper Tom Cairney was surprised, to say the least. 

Cairney stunned after hearing stat about Arsenal

Speaking on The Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio claimed Arsenal fans are ‘delusional’ and mentioned the fact they hadn’t reached the Champions League quarter-finals for 14 years.

He said: “It’s definitely premature like you’ve got into the quarter-finals after not reaching it for 14 years, be happy but walking around with cups and stuff, it’s a bit mad…”

And Cairney responded: “14 years? No way. Wow.”

It’s certainly a surprising statistic, despite Arsenal’s recent absence form the competition up until this season.

The Gunners qualified for the Champions League regularly under Arsene Wenger but it’s fair to say the legendary boss didn’t exactly pull up any trees in Europe.

Nevertheless, Arteta will be hoping to deliver the one thing Wenger couldn’t manage and that is a Champions League title.

Based on the teams left in the competition, you’d have to say that Arsenal won’t exactly fear anyone at the moment.

But they will have to improve dramatically on the performances they put in against Porto if they wish to end their long wait for European silverware.

The Portuguese giants proved to be a difficult match-up for the Gunners and arguably limited Arteta’s side in the final third more effectively than any other side this season. 

Yet, Arsenal will come up against well-drilled sides like Porto in Europe and if they are to win the competition, there are likely to be similar tests just around the corner.