Arsenal, Bayern into Champions League quarters
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Arsenal sent FC Porto crashing with a 5-0 demolition on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals along with Bayern Munich.
Nicklas Bendtner scored the first hat trick of his career to help Arsenal overcome a first-leg deficit, while Bayern advanced past Fiorentina on away goals despite a 3-2 loss in Italy that made it 4-4 on aggregate.
Arsenal and Bayern are the first sides through to the March 19 quarterfinal draw in Nyon, Switzerland. Manchester United, AC Milan, Real Madrid and Lyon will try to join them on Wednesday and the other four spots will be decided next week.
Fiorentina went two goals up inside 54 minutes through Juan Vargas and Stevan Jovetic before Bayern captain Mark van Bommel's strike on the hour mark began a flurry of superb goals.
Jovetic grabbed his second with a solo effort but man-of-the-match Arjen Robben broke the home fans' hearts with a stunning 30-yard strike.
Arsenal trailed 2-1 from the first-leg match in Portugal but drew level on aggregate when Bendnter scored in the 10th minute. The Premier League side never looked like falling behind again.
"It will give us a lot of confidence," Bendtner said. "We want to win the Champions League. It's something we haven't done."
Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue added another two for Arsenal.
Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira said he believes Arsenal can win the tournament.
"Arsenal is a team that scored the most goals in the first phase of the competition," Ferreira said. "It's a team with great players."
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