Rio Ferdinand has expressed disbelief at Arsenal not receiving a penalty after Bukayo Saka went down inside the Bayern Munich penalty area during their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Emirates on Tuesday, April 9.
The Gunners took an early lead through a spectacular finish from Saka (12′). Serge Gnabry, though, finished off a fantastic Bayern counter-attack in the 18th minute to bring the Bavarians level. Harry Kane then scored from the spot (32′) after Leroy Sane was brought down inside the area by William Saliba.
Substitute Leandro Trossard restored parity after some neat work by Gabriel Jesus inside the Bayern penalty area. However, Saka went down tumbling in the dying moments after making contact with Manuel Neuer. Ferdinand thinks that Mikel Arteta’s side deserved a spotkick. He said (via Eurosport):
“How has that not been given? I can’t believe that has not been given with VAR. Saka was the most dangerous player for Arsenal- He’s running through there, that’s a penalty. I can’t believe it, I’m walking around in disbelief and I’ve got my arms on top of my head.”
With the score level at 2-2, the second leg at the Allianz Arena on April 17 is perfectly poised. But before that, Arsenal has a Premier League game to play on April 14 against fifth-placed Aston Villa, while Bayern Munich takes on 17th-placed Koln in the Bundesliga on April 13.