Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, spoke out after leading his team to a 1-1 draw away against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Mikel Arteta, manager of the "Gunners" Arsenal, said that having a penalty overturned late in the game was unacceptable after his team drew 1-1 away against "Los Rojiblancos" Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final last night. However, he remains confident that the team can reach the final.
The dramatic moment came in the 78th minute with the score tied at 1-1 when Arsenal attacker Eberechi Eze was brought down by David Hancko. Initially, the referee awarded a penalty, but after a VAR review, he changed his decision and denied Arsenal the penalty.
Arteta began by saying, "First of all, it's a great honor to play a Champions League semi-final at this stadium. The atmosphere here was incredible. We controlled most of the game and took the lead through a penalty. Unfortunately, our start to the second half was poor, with several lost balls giving them an advantage, which they capitalized on. Moments like that wouldn't be a penalty in the Premier League."
"But what angers me the most is how Eze's penalty was taken away like that. It clearly changed the direction of the game. At this level, I’m sorry, but things like this can't happen. We are all very angry about this. It's extremely disappointing and frustrating."
"I don't understand why we were not given the penalty, because there was clear contact and the on-field referee had already awarded it. It's truly unacceptable."
When asked if he would file a complaint with UEFA about the decision, Arteta replied, "I don't know. I will leave it to the club to decide what is best. They didn't give us the penalty, so that's that. Let's just talk about football."
Regarding the match result, Arteta said, "I am very proud. It's incredible, and I truly value what the team has done because I have seen the best teams in the world fail here. We didn’t get the result we wanted, and we wanted to win the way we planned. But at least the outcome is still in our hands, in front of our fans, to reach the final. In one week, we will have that chance."