Mikel Arteta was left frustrated after Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, insisting his side could “easily” have been awarded a penalty for a challenge on Noni Madueke.
Arsenal’s dream of winning their first Champions League ended in heartbreak on Saturday, as PSG retained their European crown with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory in Budapest.
The game finished 1-1 after extra time, with Kai Havertz scoring early for Arsenal before Ousmane Dembélé equalised from the spot in the second half.
The big talking point from Arsenal’s point of view came in extra time when Madueke went down in the box after a coming together with Nuno Mendes.
Arteta was frustrated with the referee against PSG
Arteta and several Arsenal players were furious that referee Daniel Siebert did not point to the spot, and the decision was not overturned by VAR.
The incident led to strong protests from the Arsenal bench, with Arteta even receiving a booking.
After the match, Arteta made it clear he felt Arsenal had a strong case. His view was simple: in a Champions League final, that kind of moment can change everything.
If Arsenal get the penalty and score, they may well go on to win the trophy.
Instead, the match went to penalties, where Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missed as PSG held their nerve.
Arteta said, as reported by Fabrizio Romano: “We could have easily had a penalty on Madueke…”.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey later said the incident looked like a penalty in real time, but replays showed Madueke also had hold of Mendes’ arm.
Because of that, he felt it was not a clear and obvious error, meaning VAR was right not to intervene.
Arsenal fans were left hurt in the end
That explanation will not make Arsenal fans feel any better. They had already seen PSG score their goal from a penalty, so being denied one of their own in extra time only added to the frustration.
Arteta also urged his players to use the pain of defeat as fuel, rather than allowing it to break them.
Arteta had every right to be annoyed, but the decision was not a total robbery.
It was one of those messy penalty-box incidents where both players were involved, and VAR rarely overturns them unless the referee has clearly missed something obvious.
That said, Arsenal will feel hurt because finals are decided by tiny details. They were so close to history, and that Madueke moment will be replayed for a long time.
Arteta explained the thought process behind Gabriel taking the decisive penalty
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