Richards names Arsenal ‘technician’ who should have replaced Gabriel in penalty shootout heartbreak | OneFootball

Former Manchester City star Micah Richards has applauded Arsenal centre-back Gabriel for ‘stepping up’ and taking a penalty against PSG in the Champions League final, but believes Noni Madueke should have been given the nod for the critical fifth spot-kick instead.

The French side made it back-to-back triumphs in Europe’s premier cup competition as they beat the Gunners in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra-time in Budapest.

While Nuno Mendes was denied by Arsenal stopper David Raya, a stuttering Eberechi Eze struck wide from 12 yards before Gabriel blazed over the crossbar to confirm Arsenal’s fate, as their wait for a first-ever Champions League success continues.

It was a quick turnaround as the north London outfit caught a 2am flight to head back to the capital and celebrate their first Premier League title in more than 20 years with an open-top bus parade.

While the jubilant scenes amongst the fans and players were clear for all to see, they were clearly tinged with regret over what might have been in Hungary.

Questions surrounding Arsenal’s apparent lack of firepower up front have since risen to the surface again, while Thierry Henry was among those to criticise Gabriel’s position in the list of penalty takers on the night.

“I always say when you go and take the penalty I will always have respect for you,” the Arsenal legend said on CBS Sports.

“I don’t know why he went, I don’t know how he arrived to be the fifth guy but he went. How he played all season and tonight was immense. But he missed it. But he didn’t hide.”

Richards miffed at missed Arsenal opportunity

And Henry’s CBS colleague, Richards, took a similar stance as he looked back on Arsenal’s missed opportunity while speaking with Gary Lineker on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football.

“When Gabriel stepped up, though… I don’t want to say he looked nervous because you could probably say that about every player that stepped up, but I was wondering what technique he was going to use,” Richards said.

“So when you’re a defender and you’re approaching a penalty, defenders union and all that, we just say hit it as hard as you can. That’s what we think.

“When he was running up and taking it, he didn’t look confident, you know? It’s almost like he just wanted to get it over and and done with.

“I can’t remember who was sat next to me who said, “Gabriel’s going to hit this as hard as he possibly can and it’s going to go over the bar”, and that’s exactly what happened as well. You just got a sense and a feeling.

“But fair play to him for stepping up, he wanted to lead by example, but I would have liked to have seen Madueke take one, a technician.

“I know it’s easy saying that after the event but that’s why you’ve got the players, they have better technique, they play in forward positions because they have better technique.

“Even if you’re nervous your probability is higher if your more technical.”

While Richards stressed that he was not trying to ‘throw Madueke under the bus’, he stressed that a team’s ‘technical players’ should always be nearer the front of the queue when it comes to the pressure involved in a shootout.

“That’s not me throwing Madueke under the bus,” he added.

“I just think if you’ve got technical players on the pitch then you give yourself a better chance, that’s all.”