Arsenal's Mikel Arteta slams penalty decision

Mikel Arteta watches on during Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta did not hold back with his views on Eberechi Eze being denied a penalty in last night’s Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

The Gunners did well to come away with a 1-1 draw from a tough away game against a top team, but they were also unfortunate when what looked like a clear penalty on Eze ended up being overturned after a VAR check.

This also followed a controversial penalty being awarded to Atletico, with Julian Alvarez scoring the equaliser from the spot after what clearly looked like an unintentional handball by Ben White.

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While Arteta was ready to accept the different handball rules in UEFA competitions for the Atletico penalty, he admitted he was “fuming” with the foul on Eze not being given.

Mikel Arteta fuming after controversial Atletico-Arsenal game

? “At this level, this CANNOT happen!” ?

Mikel Arteta did NOT hold back after *that* penalty decision against Arsenal last night…?

— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) April 30, 2026

Speaking in his press conference after the game, Arteta said: “In the manner that we gave the penalty, very disappointed. In the Premier League, it’s not a penalty, but here I have to accept that with the rules and how consistent they’ve been, for example, yesterday with Bayern Munich, I accept that this is a handball.

“What I am incredibly fuming with, is how the penalty on Ebs gets overturned in the manner that it happened, when it’s not a clear and obvious error – this changes the course of the game. At this level, I’m sorry, but this cannot happen.”