- Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday
- Fans are convinced Mikel Arteta should have been sent off in the second half
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Fans are convinced Mikel Arteta should have been sent off during Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
The Gunners boss, who watched his side fall to a second successive defeat at the San Siro following Saturday’s 1-0 loss against Newcastle, was shown a yellow card midway through the second half for interfering with the ball while it was still in play.
In the 63rd minute, with Arsenal chasing the game after Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty on the stroke of half time, the ball ricocheted towards Arteta’s technical area as Bukayo Saka struck the ball against Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Despite initially appearing to be heading out of play, the spinning ball remained on the pitch — only for Arteta to bend down and stop it with his hand.
To make matters worse, his interference prevented Matteo Darmian from regaining possession for the Italian giants, sparking protests from the full-back and his team-mates.
Fans are convinced Mikel Arteta should have been sent off for handling the ball while it was still in play during Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan on Wednesday night
The referee and Arteta laughed about it as he was shown a yellow card after the interference
The Arsenal boss has made a habit of standing extremely close to the touchline during games
Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs smiled as he brandished his yellow card to Arteta, appearing to have a pleasant word with the Spanish manager on the touchline.
Several fans were unhappy to see Arteta escape further punishment for interfering with play, claiming that his actions at the San Siro warranted a sending-off.
One fan posted on X: ‘Our old friend discretion. “Sending-off offences include (but are not limited to): entering the field of play to: interfere with play, an opposing player or a match official”.
Another said: ‘This should have been a red card for Arteta. What is he doing?’
A Tottenham supporter also voiced their frustration, adding: ‘Let alone picking up the ball how can Arteta be this close to the play and think it’s ok. He does it every single PL game and distracts players 2 or 3 times a game.’
West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan was sent off for committing a similar offence in the Championship earlier this year.
Just six minutes into the Baggies’ clash with Southampton, the Spaniard kicked the ball while it was still in play after Saints star Sekou Mara played a pass down the line towards his team-mate Ryan Fraser.
Despite immediately apologising — having though the ball was spinning out of play — Corberan was given his marching orders by referee Sam Allison.
Fans quickly took to social media to point out how Arteta was lucky just to receive a booking
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan was sent off for a similar offence earlier this year
While Arteta escaped the same punishment, Arsenal suffered a disappointing defeat on the night and slipped to 12th of 36 in the Champions League table.
Referee Kovacs awarded Inter a penalty in stoppage time at the end of the first half after Mikel Merino inadvertently handled the ball in the area, gifting spot-kick specialist Calhanoglu a golden opportunity from the spot.
The midfielder made no mistake and handed Inter a crucial lead to defend, which they managed to do despite Arsenal’s attacking onslaught in the second half.
Gabriel Magalhaes had an effort cleared off the line by Denzel Dumfries before Yann Sommer expertly denied Kai Havertz’s curling effort from distance, helping his side hold on to all three points to fire them up to fifth in the Champions League table.
