Arsenal lost on penalties in the Champions League final after Ousmane Dembele’s second-half goal from 12 yards erased Kai Havertz’s opener.
Mikel Arteta asked about Arsenal’s penalty appeal after defeat to PSG (Image: TNT Sports)
Mikel Arteta has questioned the extra-time penalty controversy that erupted before Arsenal’s heartbreaking shoot-out defeat in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Ebelesi Eze and Gabriel were unable to separate for more than 120 minutes and failed to score in the penalty shootout. Arsenal extended their lead in the 6th minute with a goal from Kai Havertz, and Ousmane Dembele scored the equalizer from the penalty spot after Cristian Mosquera brought down Juvica Kvaratschelia.
There was more drama before extra time, with Noni Maduke collapsing in the penalty area after a scuffle with Nuno Mendes.
However, referee Daniel Sievert decided the incident did not merit a penalty, much to the fury of Arteta, who was booked on the touchline with Declan Rice.
Asked about the incident by TNT Sports after the match, the Arsenal manager revealed that he felt Maduke should have won the penalty. “Looking back, it could easily have been a penalty,” said the Spaniard.
“In particular, we see the penalty they gave me in this year’s competition. This season, the referee made a decision and gave a different penalty with Cristian Mosquera. It’s an important penalty.”
He went on to admit that losing on penalties in the final was particularly cruel, adding: “Yes, it’s very difficult to accept that you’ve been competing all the way until the final and then at the end you lose the trophy on penalties. So it’s difficult.”
Noni Madueke collapses in the penalty area in a scramble with Nuno Mendes in extra time (Image: Arsenal FC, Getty Images)
Rice also questioned the call in his post-match interview, saying: “I haven’t looked back yet. I think at first glance on the pitch he’s better than Nuno Mendes. And if you look back at the call we got against Bayer Leverkusen, it’s very similar.”
“But look, I’m not going to get into that. Obviously, at the time I thought the referee was going to see it, so I had a boner.”
“Obviously, it wasn’t clear enough to pen. I thought so, and so did the bench and the players.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
