VAR actually missed something really crucial in Inter Milan vs Arsenal and Mikel Arteta agrees - opinion
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Arsenal suffered another sobering defeat, this time in the UEFA Champions League as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s first-half penalty was the solitary goal of the game at San Siro as the Gunners succumbed to a third defeat in their last six games across all competitions.
The decision to award Inter a spot-kick generated a lot of chatter as Mikel Merino was harshly penalised for a handball inside the box, although he couldn’t have done much to move his arm out of the way.
However, it is another decision that went against the Gunners that ultimately cost them away from home.
VAR fails to spot clear foul on Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino
Arsenal dominated the game but failed to get anything at San Siro as they find themselves 12th in the Champions League table.
In the first half, Gabriel Martinelli floated in a fantastic cross from the left flank and Merino got his head to it.
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The Arsenal midfielder won the header and put it wide of the goal, but Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer got away with one as he came from the ball and got nothing on it, instead punching Merino on the back of his head.
Arsenal’s appeals for a penalty were waived away by the referee and VAR didn’t intervene.
Later in the first half, Merino was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball for which a penalty was awarded, but Arsenal will argue that they should have been given a spot-kick earlier for Sommer’s foul on the Spaniard.
What did Mikel Arteta say about the Merino incident?
Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta was incensed by the refereeing decisions that went against the Gunners.
The Arsenal boss didn’t agree with the penalty call against Merino and felt the Spaniard should have had a spot-kick after Sommer fouled him.
Ultimately, it just wasn’t Arsenal’s night as they suffered a potentially damaging defeat in Europe.
With a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on the horizon before the international break, the Gunners need to secure a positive result to stay alive in the Premier League title race.
