Bukayo Saka and his Arsenal teammates were fuming after being denied a penalty at the end of their Champions League draw with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Substitute Leandro Trossard came on to score the equalising goal for the Gunners 15 minutes from time, but there were calls for them to have a shot at taking a lead into next week’s reverse leg.
Saka burst into the Germans’ penalty area, and looked to have taken it around the goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, only for the shot-stopper to bring him down – and the referee quickly waved it away.
Saka was seen confronting the Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg after the full-time whistle was blown – but the incident has left pundits split over whether the right call was made or not.
TNT Sports pundits Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown were left in disbelief at the referee’s decision to not award Arsenal a penalty.
Bukayo Saka was incensed that Arsenal did not get a penalty in stoppage time against Bayern
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer looked to have brought Saka down, but the referee waved it away
Former Arsenal defender Keown said: ‘Neuer is actually going towards that ball, he comes out and makes the challenge. For me that’s a penalty all day long.’
Ferdinand added in disbelief: ‘How has that not been given? With VAR, with everything, I can’t believe that’s not been given.’
He felt that Saka was Arsenal’s ‘most dangerous player’, and that the Gunners had played ‘so well’ at times during the 2-2 draw, noting ‘they were the team pushing towards the end to get the result’.
However on commentary, Ally McCoist accused Saka of ‘throwing his foot in’, before adding: ‘The referee might just have got that one correct, because I don’t think Saka needs to throw his right leg into him.’
The Scottish football icon added: ‘He definitely got there first, but there’s an element, he throws his right leg into him.’
Immediately after the game, Trossard told TNT Sports: ‘On the pitch, it looked like a penalty to me. I haven’t seen the replay, but for me, it looked like it was clear contact.’
Leandro Trossard, who scored Arsenal’s second goal, said he felt that it was a penalty
The game finished 2-2, leaving the game finely poised going into next Wednesday’s return leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Saka and Trossard got Arsenal’s goals, either side of Serge Gnabry and Harry Kane scoring for Bayern Munich, the latter from the penalty spot.
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