Advantage Arsenal in the Champions League semifinal. The Gunners head back to London at 1-1 on aggregate, where they hammered Atletico Madrid 4-0 earlier this season. Today’s match didn’t have the attacking sparkle of the PSG-Bayern match, but it was intriguing in it’s own right. Tony Meola called it more of an old school game. It was intense and physical. The two sides played defense, something that was sorely lacking in the other semifinal.
The Gunners controlled the first half. They kept Atleti’s
potent attack at bay. The much-maligned Martinelli-Madueke-Gyokeres attacking trio fashioned a decent number of chances, although most of them didn’t result in a shot on target. Notably, Piero Hincapie — perhaps put off by Martinelli’s presence at the back post too — volleyed wide and Martin Ødegaard dribbled himself into a blocked shot. I’m not sure the chance was there for the one-touch shot. We didn’t get the proper replay angle to tell, but the Arsenal skipper has a penchant for taking a few too many touches, and it seems like he did again.
Arsenal took the lead on a Viktor Gyokeres penalty after the Swede had been clumsily barged over from behind by an Atleti defender. Imagine if Premier League referees recognized that the Arsenal striker can, in fact, be fouled. Big Vik, as he seems to always do, ripped his penalty into the back of the net. Normally, Gyokeres hits the ball with that kind of power and gets the ball further into the corner or even the side netting. But he struck the ball so hard that it didn’t really matter that it wasn’t placed as well as usual. It was through Jan Oblak’s arms before the goalkeeper could possibly have adjusted to the flight of the ball.
The match flipped in the second half, though. And for reasons that still have my blood boiling. I don’t want to do referee discourse, which is ironic because of all matches, this is one. There really isn’t a way to talk about the game without talking about the second half referee decisions.
Danny Makkelie is generally regarded as one of the best referees in Europe and the world. I seem to remember watching him call many an important match well. But the moment seemed too much for him tonight. It felt as if he was swayed by the home crowd and manager into calling a one-sided second half, and he (or his VAR team) got two of the three big decisions in the match wrong.
The penalty award for Viktor Gyokeres was correct. The one against Ben White was ridiculous. The overturn of Arsenal’s second is scandalous. And for what it’s worth, Diego Simeone escaping that match without a booking (for any number of instances — dealer’s choice) is laughable.
The match turned on those decisions. The Atleti penalty handed them an undeserved lifeline back into the game. It energized the home crowd and galvanized their players. The 20-30 minute spell after leveling when they looked likely to get a second doesn’t happen without the penalty. They’d likely have some time in the ascendancy, but the time they spent in control was increased and accentuated by a scoreline that shouldn’t have been.
Arsenal wrested control of the match back in the last 15 minutes — an impressive accomplishment given the flow of the second half, the home crowd, and the fatigue disparity you’d expect from the two sides. They should have had the opportunity to likely win the game from the penalty spot. But for some reason, a penalty given on the pitch was overturned with the replay clearly showing the defender catching the attacker. Twice, I’d add.
The juxtaposition of the two calls makes it feel worse, too. The one-two combo of a soft penalty at one end with a, uh, perplexing overturn of an awarded penalty at the other really stings. Mikel Arteta was rightly incensed after the match.
The good news for Arsenal is that they head back to London with a 1-1 scoreline. Draw away, win at home. This particular home win would punch a ticket to the Champions League final. It’s a shame the Atleti will be able to take their weekend match off, for all intents and purposes. Arsenal won’t have that luxury. That’s the way it goes. They should still be able to take care of business.
