Arsenal are now busy preparing for their tricky Premier League match against Aston Villa on Sunday, but the fallout from the Bayern Munich draw continues to rumble on.
The second leg of the Champions League quarter-final is delicately poised for Wednesday, April 17 after Leandro Trossard found Arsenal’s equaliser. But the officiating remains the real talking point a few days on, with Bukayo Saka’s late shout for a foul by Manuel Neuer countered by Bayern claiming they should have been given another spot-kick.
The Gunners played some impressive football against the German giants, but could not sustain it and will face a tough task in the second leg next week. First, it is a home match against fifth-placed Villa, who are desperate for points as they battle Spurs for fourth. Basically, there are a lot of important fixtures on the horizon; they don’t call it the business end of the season for nothing! In the meantime, please enjoy the latest Arsenal news courtesy of Mirror Football.
Bayern Munich will be without Serge Gnabry for the second leg in Bavaria on Wednesday after the forward suffered a hamstring injury at the Emirates Stadium. Gnabry scored Bayern’s equaliser by getting in front of Ben White to finish through David Raya, but he will be absent from the next few games.
Tuchel admitted: “It’s a hamstring injury. It doesn’t look good for the second leg.” Meanwhile, Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreese stated: “He scored a fantastic goal. Wishing you a speedy recovery, especially after today’s fantastic performance.”
Gnabry was replaced by full-back Raphael Guerreiro on Tuesday night, but Kingsley Coman – who himself came on for Leroy Sane – would make a more likely replacement for the second leg. Thomas Muller, unused in the first leg, is another option.
Saka was through on goal when he collided with Neuer and fell to the ground certain he was about to be awarded a last-gasp penalty. Referee Glenn Nyberg did not agree, though, and VAR did not intervene to give Arsenal a lifeline.
Saka’s claim received an unlikely backer in the form of Harry Kane, who told Amazon Prime: “If that happened to us, I would want the penalty. But it’s a 50-50 decision.” But Arsenal fan and Saka backer Ian Wright surprisingly disagreed, tweeting: “Not a pen for me. Work to do in Munich.”
Tuchel was clear in his stance, saying: “For me, it was contact, but much too late. The ball was gone. He runs into Manu. Suddenly he blew the whistle. Then no one knew what was going on.”
Kane scored one penalty on Tuesday night, beating Raya from the spot after Sane was tripped by William Saliba – and he thinks he should have been able to take another. Gabriel Magalhaes picked up the ball after Raya took a free-kick inside the box, but was not punished for handball.
“We should have gotten a crystal-clear penalty,” Kane said. “The referee blows his whistle, the goalkeeper passes to Gabriel and he just takes the ball in his hands. That’s crazy. That’s a silly, childish mistake, but that’s what it is: clearest penalty I’ve ever seen.”
Kane also reacted to claims he should have been sent off for elbowing Gabriel during a tussle for the ball. The England captain was booked but was baffled by the decision. Kane said: “It was strange, I’m not really sure, it was 50-50, he gave that one as a foul and I’m surprised it was a yellow card but it is what it is. Decisions sometimes go your way.”
