Mikel Arteta said he was ‘fuming’ with the decision to overturn an Arsenal penalty decision during the club’s 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid.
The first leg of the Champions League semi-final tie ended all square at the Metropolitano Stadium, as penalties for either side left the tie in the balance ahead of next week’s return.
Viktor Gyokeres won and converted the penalty for the opener for Arsenal, before Julian Alvarez blasted home an equaliser from the spot, after Ben White was penalised for a handball.
However, Arsenal were awarded another penalty after Eberechi Eze went over in the box, only for VAR to overturn the on-field decision.
Arteta was pleased with the performance of his side but blasted VAR for its involvement, insisting the decision ‘changes the course of the game’.
“What a privilege to play the Champions League semi-final in this stadium – what energy, what an atmosphere they created. We had big parts of the game, very similar to what we wanted, and we went ahead with the penalty,” he said at his post-match press conference.
“Unfortunately, in the second half we started a bit sloppy, with certain giveaways and giving them some momentum, and that’s the moment that they used it.
“That’s something that we knew we had to go through, in the manner that we gave the penalty, very disappointed. In the Premier League, it’s not a penalty, but here I have to accept that with the rules and how consistent they’ve been, for example, yesterday with Bayern Munich, I accept that this is a handball.
“What I am incredibly fuming with, is how the penalty on Ebs gets overturned in the manner that it happened, when it’s not a clear and obvious error – this changes the course of the game. At this level, I’m sorry, but this cannot happen.”
