Mikel Arteta blasted the decision to cancel a late Arsenal penalty after VAR intervention as the Gunners were held to a tense 1-1 draw by Atletico Madrid.
Mikel Arteta did little to hide his anger after Arsenal were denied what could have been a crucial late winner in their Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid, with the Gunners boss raging at VAR’s decision to overturn a penalty initially awarded in the closing moments of the 1-1 draw.
We battled toe-to-toe.
A chance to finish the job at home in N5 ✊ pic.twitter.com/RfD8mLQdhn
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 29, 2026
In a contest full of tension and fine margins, Arteta felt one of the biggest moments of Arsenal’s season had been taken out of his side’s hands.
With the match level in the dying stages at the Metropolitano, Eberechi Eze drove into the penalty area and went down after contact from Atletico defender David Hancko. Referee Danny Makkelie immediately pointed to the spot, sparking celebrations among Arsenal players who sensed a golden chance to steal a priceless away victory. But after being instructed to review the incident on the monitor, the Dutch official reversed his call, sending the Atletico fans in the stadium into relief and leaving the Arsenal bench in disbelief.
Arteta’s frustration exploded in his post-match comments. The Spaniard said he was incredibly fuming with the manner in which the decision was changed, insisting such moments alter the entire direction of a tie at this elite level. In his view, Arsenal had worked for nine months to reach this position and were denied a potentially decisive advantage by what he saw as an unacceptable intervention.
The match itself had already been shaped heavily by penalty drama. Arsenal took the lead when Hancko was judged to have fouled Viktor Gyokeres, allowing the Swedish striker to convert confidently from the spot. Atletico Madrid then restored parity early in the second half after a VAR review spotted a handball by Ben White, with Julian Alvarez stepping up to dispatch his own penalty and level the contest.
Interestingly, Arteta admitted he could live with Atletico’s equalising spot kick, particularly because a similar handball decision had been given in Bayern Munich’s semi-final the previous night. What he could not accept was the inconsistency he felt surrounded the late Eze incident. For him, the second reversal crossed a line, and he made it clear that both his players and coaching staff left Madrid convinced they had been wronged.
On the other side, Diego Simeone naturally had a very different interpretation. Atletico’s manager praised VAR for correcting what he believed were flawed on-field calls, even arguing that Arsenal’s first penalty had been soft in the first place. Simeone described the technology as something that sometimes gives and sometimes takes away, and on this occasion he was clearly grateful that it tilted in his team’s favour when the pressure was highest.
Despite the controversy, the tie remains perfectly poised heading back to London next Tuesday. Simeone described the second leg as an extraordinary challenge, noting Arsenal’s formidable home record in Europe, but insisted Atletico will travel with hope and total commitment.
