Bukayo Saka expresses frustration via Instagram after penalty controversy in Arsenal draw against Bayern Munich
Bukayo Saka took to Instagram to vent his frustration after Arsenal were denied a late penalty in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich on Tuesday (April 9).
Saka opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a beautiful left-footed curling shot into the far bottom-left corner. Six minutes later, Serge Gnabry stirred the pot after scoring on his return to the Emirates.
Harry Kane put Bayern in front in the 32nd minute from a spot-kick which resulted from William Saliba's mistimed tackle on Leroy Sane. Bayern had a penalty shout in the 67th minute after Gabriel Magalhaes picked up David Raya's short goal kick, but referee Glenn Nyberg did not point to the spot.
Leandro Trossard blew the roof off the Emirates after scoring the equalizer in the 76th minute. With the first-leg clash entering stoppage time, Saka had a clear goal-scoring chance before he collided with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
On second viewing, it can be argued that Saka initiated contact with his right leg but there was a definite coming-together between the two players. No spot-kick was awarded as the 22-year-old English winger sought an explanation from Nyberg in the aftermath of the decision.
After the match, Saka took to his Instagram account to post a story with two 'Face with Steam from Nose' emojis to express his frustration. He also made an Instagram post with the caption:
"Frustrating, but everything to play for in the second leg 😤🔴"
Check out Saka's two social media posts below:
With his first-half strike, Saka is now up to 18 goals and 13 assists in 40 games across competitions this term.
Mikel Arteta tells Arsenal to focus on 'other aspects' after Bukayo Saka penalty claim against Bayern Munich
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave a rather diplomatic response when asked to give his verdict on the Bukayo Saka penalty incident against Bayern Munich.
The Gunners kept 60% possession of the ball and took five more shots than Bayern's 13 in the first leg. Yet, they led the game for just six minutes and failed to secure what would have been just their fourth win over Bayern in 13 tries.
Speaking to reporters after the full-time whistle, the Spanish tactician said (via Sky Sports):
"I haven't seen it. The decision is made, we cannot change that. We have to focus on other aspects we can control and that we could've done much better tonight. I was already looking at the other goal [when Saka first reacted], because he was down in the box and we had 10 men, the game had not finished - I was more worried about that than his reaction."
Arteta's Arsenal also have the Premier League to focus on, where they lead the table on goal difference after 31 matches with 71 points. Bayern can't say the same, trailing leaders Bayer Leverkusen by 16 points with six Bundesliga games remaining.