One thing both teams have in common is that they have yet to win the biggest competition in European club football.
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been heavily criticised for not awarding a penalty in his side's Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. The match at Atletico's home ground ended in a 1-1 draw. The result leaves Arsenal in strong contention for a place in the final, with the second leg next week at the Emirates.
With the game level late in the first leg, Arsenal's Iberechi Igi was fouled in the Atletico box by home defender David Hanko. Dutch referee Dani Makili initially awarded a penalty but later overturned it after a 'weight' review. The decision came as a huge relief to the team and fans at the Metropolitano Stadium, but a source of anger for Arsenal. Speaking to the media after the
, Arteta said, ‘I don’t understand how the penalty decision was changed, I have an objection to it. In such a high-level game, one decision has changed the entire competition. This should not happen under any circumstances. Arsenal took the lead in the first half, when Victor Gokeres was fouled by Hanko and Gokeres scored from the penalty spot.
Atletico equalized in the second half, also from the penalty spot. Julian Alvarez scored from the spot after Ben White handled the ball. Arteta accepted the handball decision against him, because a penalty was given against Bayern Munich in a similar situation the previous day in the match against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), but he does not agree with the decision to overturn the foul on Izzy.
Arteta added, ‘We will always have an objection to this. We have suffered so much in the last nine months to get here. If we had been awarded a penalty and scored a goal, the whole game would have been different. I repeat, it should not have happened. It should not have happened in any situation.’ The referee’s decision was a relief for Atletico. Coach Diego Simeone sees everything in it.
He initially believes that the penalty decision given for the foul against Gyorkeres was not correct. He says, ‘In the first penalty decision, my opinion is that the opponent tried to fall on the field. That too in a big occasion like the semi-final. Penalty decisions should be made on penalties. The decision made through the referee is correct. We should be grateful for that.’
The next leg will be played in London on Tuesday. Both teams will play in the decisive match. One common feature of both teams is that they have not yet won the biggest competition in European club football. So the team that reaches the final will have the sole objective of winning the title. Simoni says, ‘We have a big challenge, now we are playing at Arsenal’s home in London. We will play our best with confidence.’
