It was a difficult night for Arsenal in the Champions League as they laboured to a 0-0 draw at home against Sporting CP. That said, the goalless result was enough to send the Gunners through to the Champions League semi-finals, with a 1-0 win on aggregate.
Kai Havertz's first-leg goal in Portugal was all that separated the teams, as Mikel Arteta's men just about edged the margins across the tie. While his team will feel deserving of their spot in the last four, Sporting may be disappointed not to have gone further.
The away team managed to hit the post in London, as one goal would have been enough to take the match to extra time and perhaps then penalties. Adding to the frustration, Rui Borges' side also had a strong penalty shout turned down.
Maximiliano Araujo Wanted Penalty After Cristhian Mosquera Push
The incident occurred in the second half as a deflected shot flew across the penalty box. Maximiliano Araujo attempted to reach the ball, but just couldn't make it. However, he threw himself to the ground, suggesting that he'd been pushed as he tried to score.
Footage showed Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera definitely put his hands on the back of the Sporting defender. However, it seemed as though the touch was minimal and VAR saw no reason to overturn the on-field decision of referee Francois Letexier, who did not call a foul.
Former FIFA and Premier League official Keith Hackett has now weighed in with his thoughts on the incident. In a rather strong claim, he has accused Araujo of diving, telling Football Insider:
“This is an act of simulation; therefore, not a penalty kick offence. You can see the player prematurely going to dive, and frankly, should have received a yellow card for an act of simulation.”
It's worth noting that Araujo was actually later booked, which would have resulted in a red card had he picked up a yellow for this supposed dive.
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Declan Rice Dismisses Negativity as Arsenal Make Champions League Semis
While Arsenal were not at their best, they will still be delighted to make it to the Champions League semi-finals. This is actually the first time the club have ever reached this stage of the competition in consecutive seasons, losing to Paris Saint-Germain at that hurdle last term.
Dismissing the idea that there's any reason to be negative, Declan Rice told media after the game: “Frustrating? Nah, we’ve just got to a semi-final. No frustration, positivity all the way.
“Who cares what people think? All that matters is what this group thinks, what the manager thinks and we’re in another semi-final. I’m delighted. “You want to be able to score goals. Most teams that come here, we play against 5-4-1 every time so there’s a bit of perspective with that. Every time we’ve played this season changes from a four to a five to defend against us so the spaces aren’t there as much. “It’s on us to find ways to score and break it down but we’re playing against top players every week. We’ll keep going, keep playing well, keep getting over the line. Bring it on.”
On meeting Atletico Madrid in the next round, he also said: "Delighted, so, so happy. It was a really tough test over two games but to go back-to-back semi-finals is an amazing achievement for this group and we want to now go one step further than last year and get to the final.
“We’ve played Atletico already this year, it was a really good game and we know what to expect so bring on these last couple of weeks.”