Arsenal fans will be booking their tickets to Budapest tonight after beating Atlético Madrid and making it to the Champions League final. They were made to sweat for it, and one moment in the second half threatened to unravel everything.
Bukayo Saka's first-half goal a few minutes before halftime was enough to get the job done. It was a striker's finish from a winger, reacting instinctively in the six-yard box after Jan Oblak pushed Leandro Trossard's low shot into his path, sweeping home from close range and, sending the Emirates into raptures.
Arsenal players pose for a team group photo Related
Arsenal ‘Game-Changer’ Left Everyone Stunned With His Display vs Atletico Madrid
Arsenal fans absolutely loved his performance, in just his 17th game of the season.
From that moment, Arsenal dug in, defended their lead, and weathered everything Atletico Madrid threw at them. What they almost couldn't weather, though, was a moment of VAR controversy that had every Arsenal fan holding their breath.
The Decision That Had Everyone Talking
Deep into the second half, with Atletico pressing hard for an equaliser, Riccardo Calafiori slid in on Antoine Griezmann inside the penalty area. The contact was clear, the Italian's challenge caught Griezmann on the calf, and in almost any other circumstance, it would’ve been a stonewall penalty.
The Emirates fell quiet on a night where they’d been in full voice as the Atleti players appealed, and Diego Simeone was up off his seat, as he usually is. VAR intervened, but not in the way Atlético had hoped.
In the seconds before Calafiori's challenge, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes had gone to ground after an aerial battle with Atletico's Marc Pubill. The contact between the two was minimal and Gabriel hit the deck, and it was that moment that ultimately proved decisive.
Mark Clattenburg Explains Penalty Decision
Mark Clattenburg
Mark Clattenburg
Mark Clattenburg knows a thing or two about refereeing a Champions League fixture. He’s taken charge of 28 in total, including the 2016 final at the San Siro, a Madrid derby Atletico Madrid found themselves on the losing end of. Aside from his officiating for the Gladiators, he also works as a referee pundit and rules analyst for Amazon, and he gave his view of the incident:
"I think what the VAR has looked at is Calafiori's challenge on Griezmann," Clattenburg said. "He believes that's a penalty kick, and replays show it was, but there was a foul just before on Gabriel. So they had to check the foul first, and he agrees with the referee's analysis of a foul. Therefore, the foul outweighs the penalty kick."
It was the second time in the match that VAR had been called upon to assess a potential Atletico penalty. Earlier in the second half, Gabriel had tussled with Giuliano Simeone in the box, but the same conclusion was reached: no penalty. Arsenal, too, felt aggrieved at various points, with Griezmann appearing to shove Leandro Trossard in the back in the first half, a moment that neither the referee, his assistants, nor VAR deemed worthy of a spot-kick.
On another night, in another match, any one of those decisions could have gone differently. But on this occasion, the calls went Arsenal's way, and they held on to book their place in the final, but it’s highly unlikely anyone in the Atlético Madrid camp will feel that justice was served.