In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, Arsenal played away from home and drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid. After the game, when Arsenal coach Arteta was interviewed by CBS, Arteta said that it was regrettable to be awarded a penalty kick in that way.
It's a riveting game that's as intense as it is for you.
If you think about it this way, it should be appropriate. How happy and honored it would be to be able to compete in such a wonderful atmosphere. I mean, the energy that they created here is really extraordinary and amazing. We knew in our hearts that this game was going to be tough and I thought we had some really, really good moments, and this was definitely the kind of game we wanted to play in? period.
We were leading and, well, then, yes, it was a shame that we were awarded a penalty for that situation, but given the rules and the way UEFA awards penalties in the Champions League, I accept the result. What I don't accept, and what I think our entire club is concerned about, is the circumstances surrounding Eze's penalty call and the way it was over-interpreted, which in my view is unacceptable to that extent because it changes the course of the game.
So the error you stated was that given that Ben White's handball was ruled a penalty, Eze's fall to the ground in the penalty area should also have been ruled a penalty, but it was cancelled.
In the Premier League, penalty kicks are not very obvious, but in the Champions League, penalty kicks are indeed penalty kicks. They were very clear from the beginning. I think the penalty they made yesterday was consistent. In the Bayern Munich game, you clearly saw a fair and fair penalty, which was undoubtedly a penalty. I can understand that what was awarded today was also a penalty kick, but the second penalty kick, which was Eze's penalty kick, was simply unacceptable to me (cancellation) because there was a lack of consistency.
you are angry
– Yes, because it obviously changed the direction of the game.
The first half was uneventful, and you had the idea of trying to neutralize the spirit of Atletico Madrid, and you did that successfully in the first few minutes while taking control of the situation. However, after entering the second half, it can be felt that due to the boost brought by the home atmosphere and the opponent's further improvement of the overall intensity of the game, the entire scene has become extremely difficult.
Yes, this is partly due to the performance of our opponents, and partly due to our own problems. Regrettably, we made several mistakes, which resulted in the ball being given away and giving the opponents confidence, which in turn allowed them to create threatening moments. We have predicted a long time ago that there will be such a passive stage in this game.
Here they faced the best teams in the world and fought to the bitter end. And we got through that stage successfully. I think in the last 15 to 20 minutes, coupled with the adjustment of substitutions, we ended the game with a very strong momentum. Therefore, all situations are still full of uncertain changes. We have the chance to reach the Champions League final in front of our home fans. All we have to do is use all our strength to win.
Finally a question. The Spaniard Diego Simeone once mentioned that he knew very well that those of you participating in the game will go through a "suffering period" because you have just finished a difficult and fierce game against Fulham. This game consumed a lot of your body energy, and then you did not stop at all. You rushed over to the next game quickly, and Diego Simeone always tried to take advantage of this situation, hoping to gain a favorable position in the competition.
–Um.
How do you plan to deal with this situation?
There is no special method. All we can do is to restore physical fitness, ensure sleep, supplement nutrition, and give full care and encouragement to the team members. All the experiences we've had along the way have been incredible, but this is the opportunity we've been waiting for, and the passion and energy we put into winning the Premier League and Champions League trophies is unparalleled.