Dani Aranzubia has enthused at making his home debut for Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, but won’t pick out preferred Last 16 opponents.
Atleti are into the draw for the knockout stages in comfort, topping Group G with 16 points, defeating Porto 2-0 on Wednesday evening, with Aranzubia deputising in goal for the absent Thibaut Courtois and saving a penalty during the first half.
“It was important to gain another victory because, despite having already qualified, we wanted to maintain our good momentum,” Aranzubia told UEFA’s official website afterwards.
“I'm happy to have made my Champions League debut tonight. There were some new emotions for me.
“I had never played a home game at the Vicente Calderon and fortunately I did so with a Champions League win.”
It was asked of the 34-year-old who he would like to see Atletico drawn against in the Last 16.
“At the end of the day, all the teams in the draw for the next round are big teams and it would be showing a lack of respect to say you would prefer to play one over another.
“It's obvious that Arsenal and Manchester City are the strongest [second-placed finishers] on paper but every other team will be hard to beat.”
