Bukayo Saka missed a golden opportunity to put Arsenal ahead in their Champions League showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu as his early penalty was saved by Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Gunners star stepped up when the visitors were awarded a spot kick early on, but was too casual with his effort. Saka attempted a panenka style penalty, which would’ve put Arsenal 1-0 in front on the night, and arguably killed off the tie. But Courtois guessed right and was able to push out his effort as the Bernabeu erupted.
Real need to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit and were able to deny the Premier League side the opening goal – but Saka and the visitors would have their moment on the hour mark when the winger timed his run perfectly before chipping it over Courtois.
Criticism was quick to come Saka’s way as the winger initially fluffed his lines on the grand stage. The Englishman has only just returned from a lengthy injury lay off, scoring on his return against Fulham, but his poor execution from 12 yards did not help Arsenal’s Champions League cause as they eye a spot in the semi-finals.
The north Londoner fanbase were all on the same page – stunned that Saka had attempted such an effort. One said: “What was Saka thinking”. Another added: “Na Saka is killing me”. The frustration continued as another claimed: “Saka you can’t be daft… Like that”
Former Arsenal defender Matt Upson, summarising on BBC Radio Five Live, added: “I just can’t believe the selection of penalty here from Bukayo Saka. I am so surprised. It’s such a bad penalty. He’s chipped it to the side Thibaut Courtois dives to.”
Saka will have been sweating ten minutes after his miss when the referee pointed to the spot, handing Real a penalty of their own. Kylian Mbappe went down as he was marked by Declan Rice with the Arsenal midfielder protesting his innocence.
VAR jumped in for the second time in the game, urging the referee to take a second look before he reversed his own decision as Rice’s contact was deemed minimal. Arsenal’s penalty had come due to VAR advising the official to take a look at a challenge on Mikel Merino.
Raul Asencio grabbed the Spanish midfielder as he attempted to get on the end of a corner with the former Real Sociedad man going down, which was originally overlooked by the referee.
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