Arsenal legend Ian Wright has sent a furious reaction after the Gunners were denied a second penalty during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on the road.
Mikel Arteta’s side played out a 1-1 draw against Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano last night. Viktor Gyokeres scored from the penalty spot before the half-time interval for the Gunners.
Atletico received a penalty of their own after the break, which Julian Alvarez converted.
The hosts were by far the better outfit after the break. Manager Diego Simeone switched from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 formation, which undoubtedly altered the dynamic of the Champions League tie.
Arsenal were grateful to goalkeeper David Raya, who made several fantastic saves, but will still feel hard done by after they were denied a second penalty in the 78th minute of the contest.
Slow-mo replays showed that David Hancko made contact with Eberechi Eze’s foot before he went down. However, the referee surprisingly overturned the decision after a VAR review.
Manager Mikel Arteta was far from impressed by the referee’s verdict. The same was the case with Wright, who said that the referee buckled under pressure and the home side would have got a penalty.
He wrote on X: ‘Knew he’d buckle ! Home side gets that pen!’
Despite the result, the Gunners should go into the second leg with plenty of positivity. Things could have been much worse had Ademola Lookman and Antoine Griezmann converted their clear-cut chances.
Arsenal had to play on a heavily watered pitch against the La Liga outfit last night, which obviously did not help. They will be aiming to secure an aggregate win on Tuesday to progress to the final.
Before that, the Gunners have a huge London derby against Fulham in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium.
With the game scheduled for Saturday, Arteta has some big team selection decisions to make.
We won’t be surprised if Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Cristhian Mosquera feature in the starting XI.
The Gunners are three points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand against Crystal Palace.
With literally no goal difference advantage, Arsenal must beat Fulham at home to pile the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side.
Man City are not in action until Monday night, when they travel to Everton. Arsenal could be six points ahead before the game.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com