Despite the players being close, Piotr Zielinski touched the ball off Mikel Merino’s arm from a free-kick, and the referee pointed directly to the spot. Hakan Calhanoglu then converted from the spot to give the home team the lead after VAR reviewed the ruling for a possible offside and decided to stick with the on-field call. Arsenal now has seven points from their first four Champions League games after it proved to be the game-changing factor. The Gunners need to win four more games to guarantee their spot in the competition’s knockout stages. Teams ranked 9th through 24th will enter play-offs for the remaining eight berths in the round of 16, while the top eight teams in the league phase advance directly to the round of 16.
My Thoughts after the Inter Milan vs Arsenal champions League game: pic.twitter.com/qIL1yxmu0C
— Buchi Laba (@Buchi_Laba) November 6, 2024
Matt Upson, a former defender for West Ham United and Arsenal, called the judgement absurd. “I don’t understand how this is a penalty,” he stated on BBC Radio 5 Live. The position of Mikel Merino’s hand is very natural. Mehdi Taremi, two yards away, skims the ball off his foot. It is not considered a penalty in the Premier League. It’s absurd.
