Arsenal are one game away from securing a place in the Champions League final and will head to the Emirates Stadium on level terms with Atletico Madrid after a fascinating 1-1 draw at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid. The tight contest was defined by set pieces as Viktor Gyokeres opened the scoring in the first half having won a penalty before Julian Alvarez equalised after the break from the very same penalty spot. Yet there were a series of decisions and possible controversies that defined the encounter, with referee Danny Makkelie called into action on an evening that will be remembered more for the intervention of VAR than the football played.
41st minute - Viktor Gyokeres wins penalty
Arsenal had started the match in confident fashion despite David Raya being tasked with stopping a sharp effort from Julian Alvarez. At the other end of the pitch, Martin Zubimendi slipped a threaded pass into the box to Viktor Gyokeres, who leaned away from David Hancko and went to ground after contact from the central defender. Makkelie blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot as protestations began from the Atletico Madrid players and supporters. VAR checked the incident but decided to stick with the on-field decision, and Gyokeres drove the resultant spot kick into the bottom left corner.
55th minute - Ben White's handball
In pursuit of an equaliser, Atletico stepped up a gear at the start of the second half and pushed higher up the pitch. Marcos Llorente received the ball just outside the Arsenal box and took a shot which was not heading on target. Arsenal defender Ben White blocked the effort, and immediately came cries from the Atletico players who were convinced he handled the ball. The referee initially waved away the appeals, but VAR intervened and called Makkelie to the pitchside monitor. White's left hand was away from his body, and the ball clearly struck it. In the Champions League, these incidents have been given all season, and the same happened here, with the referee overturning his initial decision, despite a dispute that the ball bounced up off White's leg before striking his hand. Julian Alvarez took the resultant penalty and blasted it past David Raya to score the equaliser.
78th minute - Eberechi Eze fouled by David Hancko
Perhaps the most controversial moment of the evening came as Bukayo Saka fed the ball into the right side of the Atletico box. Eberechi Eze, fresh off the bench, stretched to beat Hancko to the ball and got clipped on the foot by the defender. Eze went down and was awarded a penalty by Makkelie before the game was paused for another VAR check.
82nd minute - Arsenal's penalty is overturned
Following a lengthy check by the VAR, Makkelie was once again called over to the pitchside monitor as Atletico Madrid's manager, Diego Simeone, riled up the crowd and challenged the fourth official on the sidelines. Makkelie took 45 seconds to watch the incident 13 times before deciding that the contact between Hancko and Eze was not enough to cause a spot kick. He reversed his decision again, and Arsenal lost the chance to retake the lead late in the game.
Post match reaction
Needless to say, the incidents proved to be the biggest talking points of the game, and TNT Sports pundits Steven Gerrard, Steve McManaman, and Martin Keown were perplexed at the decisions made. "I don't think it was clear and obvious, and the referee should be allowed to referee the game," said Keown before adding: "VAR's got too involved... the referee I felt in the end buckled under the pressure."
Gerrard agreed and said: "I'm surprised he got sent to the screen. I think there's minimal contact, but it's really harsh on Arsenal to overturn that because it's not clear and obvious."
McManaman's reaction was perhaps the most telling in summing up the feeling of the watching fans as he said: "We're talking about VAR again, I hate it. It spoils the game. Once he gives it and there's contact, it's not a clear and obvious error. You shouldn't go back and re-ref it again. It baffles me."
