Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has criticised referee Daniel Siebert after his side lost the Champions League final 4-3 on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners were denied a penalty in extra time when Noni Madueke went down under pressure from Nuno Mendes, a decision that left Arteta and midfielder Declan Rice furious.
Arteta pointed to a similar incident earlier in the competition when Madueke won a penalty against Bayer Leverkusen, which Kai Havertz converted. “I watch it back and it could easily be a penalty,” Arteta said. “Especially we see the penalty they gave me this year in the competition. This season, the referee made a decision, and he made a different one with Cristhian Mosquera and that is an important one.”
Rice echoed his manager’s frustration, stating: “At first glance on the pitch, I think he's ahead of Nuno Mendes, and if I'm looking back at the one we got against Bayer Leverkusen, it's very, very similar.” Despite the controversy, Arteta expressed pride in his squad, who won the Premier League earlier this month for the first time since 2004.
“What I said to the players and the staff is that if I tell them one million times thank you it's not going to be enough,” Arteta said. “We have had an incredible competition. We haven't lost a single match in the competition. But the reality is that when something had to go our way, especially in the boxes with the penalty that was given against Mosquera and then a penalty to Madueke and the penalty kicks, those margins didn't go for us.”
The final in Budapest saw Havertz put Arsenal ahead after six minutes, but Ousmane Dembele equalised from the spot after Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. PSG then triumphed in the shootout to secure back-to-back European titles.
