Mikel Arteta doesn’t understand penalty decisions in Inter Milan clash | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has admitted he doesn’t understand why Inter Milan were awarded a penalty and Arsenal weren’t during Wednesday’s Champions League clash.

MILAN, ITALY: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale scores his team’s first goal from the penalty-spot during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between FC Internazionale Milano and Arsenal FC at Stadio San Siro on November 06, 2024. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Arsenal came away from Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan feeling disappointed after the hosts secured a 1-0 win despite creating very little across the 90 minutes.

Though Inter had one good early chance, hitting the bar, for the remainder of the match they didn’t have any serious opportunities from open play.

Instead, their one goalscoring chance came from a very soft penalty, with the ball hitting Mikel Merino’s hand when he didn’t have any time to react. Hakan Calhanoglu converted the subsequent spot-kick.

It was particularly frustrating that Merino was involved in the incident, as the same player arguably should have had a penalty after being punched in the head by the Inter goalkeeper.

The goalkeeper was aiming for the ball, but he missed and caught the man in the area. Nothing was given, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta seem perplexed at the two decisions after the game.

MILAN, ITALY: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between FC Internazionale Milano and Arsenal FC at Stadio San Siro on November 06, 2024. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“I don’t understand [the decision], it’s just a deflection, there is no danger at all, you cannot react because you are very close but ok, they decide that is a penalty,” Arteta began.

“We were told at the start of the season that wasn’t a penalty, that was clear.

“But then if that’s a penalty then the one on Mikel Merino when he punches him in the head has to be 1000% a penalty. These are the margins in this game and it’s very, very difficult to accept.

“There’s nothing unfortunately that we can do, we are not going to be able to change it so, unfortunately, we have to accept it and move on.”

LONDON, ENGLAND: Mikel Merino of Arsenal looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD2 match between Arsenal FC and Paris Saint-Germain on October 01, 2024. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Arsenal created quite a few other opportunities across the 90 minutes largely from set-pieces, but they failed to take any of them.

The expected goals tallies were heavily in the Gunners’ favour despite the penalty, but if you don’t finish your chances in a big European away game, you’re always likely to end up leaving empty handed.