Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta admitted he wanted to slap his favourite player Bukayo Saka after he missed a Panenka penalty, but he held his breath and eventually beat Real Madrid 2-1 to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.
The second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday, the Gunners, who lost 3-0 in the first leg, were award a penalty in the 13th minute.
Saka made a superb ‘Panenka’-style shot that was flick high into the middle of the goal but was save by goalkeeper Thibault Courtois.
The ‘Panenka’ shot is view from many angles. If it goes in, it is consider superior, but if it misses, it is criticize by both คาสิโนออนไลน์ UFABET ฝากถอนรวดเร็ว เริ่มต้นเล่นง่าย your team and your opponent.
That made the 42-year-old coach angry. Bukayo wanted to attack him at that time because he was careless. But he regained his senses and said that when he gave his team freedom, they had to accept the results.
In the end, Saka made amends by scoring a second-half goal to send his team to victory in Madrid and into the knockout stages with a score of 5-1 on aggregate.
“I slapped that guy in the face!” He said on Football on Ufabet Sports.
“But on the field, the players are the ones who make the decision. And ‘B’ (nickname Saka) was very brave to choose to shoot like that.”
“It could be call a turning point that makes the game more intense because it also gives the opponents more confidence.”
“But then the way Saka handled the situation, the way he played football after he missed the penalty was incredible.”
Former Arsenal players Matthew Upson and Theo Walcott have different opinions on the ‘Paneka’ penalty, with the former defender criticizing Saka for being too reckless, while the analysts seem to appreciate his recklessness.
“I can’t believe that a penalty like that was what Bukayo chose,” he told Live Sport.
“I was surprised personally, it was a poor penalty.”
As for Theo, as a former striker, he understands the feeling when a player is overly confident and often makes a goal that exceeds expectations.
“This guy is a variable from start to finish because he had a night where he could have changed the outcome of the game. But for me, that’s the flexible personality of the Arsenal dressing room.”
Arsenal have knocked out the defending champions of the Champions League for the second time , having previously beaten AC Milan in the 2007-08 season.