Ian Wright has suggested that he found what Bukayo Saka did really strange as Arsenal drew with Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
Arsenal will surely have mixed feelings about the 2-2 draw with Thomas Tuchel’s side. The Gunners have given themselves a fantastic chance of getting through. But they may feel that they missed an opportunity.
Of course, some Arsenal fans will feel that they should have taken more from the game.
Ben White missed a golden chance at 1-0. And the tie ended in controversial fashion after Bukayo Saka felt that he had been fouled inside the penalty area by Manuel Neuer.
Ian Wright baffled by what Bukayo Saka did in Arsenal tie with Bayern Munich
Saka had been played through and attempted to take the ball around the Bayern goalkeeper. However, he was clearly tripped.
The referee waved play-on. And his decision was allowed to stand, with the VAR deciding that Saka may well have initiated the contact himself.
But speaking on Wrighty’s House, Ian Wright was more critical of Bukayo Saka as he felt that the 22-year-old could have scored had he stayed on his feet.
“The angle that we got, the face-on where Saka went in, he moved it with his left foot so if you move it with your left foot, you should be going off to the left. He actually, for some reason, the leg went out to the right. His leg went out to the right, whereas I’m thinking because you’ve gone to the left, anything that’s coming to impede you then, you jump over it,” he said.
“So this is why it felt very strange for him to be fouled in that manner, because he should be nowhere near. His right foot shouldn’t be there. His right foot should be coming across to the left-hand side because that’s the side he’s just moved to.
“I thought when I saw it, it was strange that his body’s moving to the right when the ball has gone to the left. And it seems to me that his body’s moving to the right because that’s where the goalkeeper was and he’s tried to initiate contact. I’m sorry, that’s how I saw it.”
Mikel Arteta’s team talk for second-leg may have been done for him
If anyone should understand what Saka could have done in that moment, it is Wright. But the Arsenal talisman will perhaps argue that he was moving at such a speed that he had to go closer to Neuer.
It is certainly verging on clumsy from Neuer. He had little control over what happened next, which would have been a problem had Saka been closer to him.
Obviously, Bayern will feel that it would have been incredibly unfair to award a penalty. They certainly should have had a spot-kick of their own when Gabriel Magalhaes decided to pick the ball up inside the box.
Whether it was a penalty or not – and many will agree with Wright’s opinion – Mikel Arteta will surely be using that moment to fuel his side as they prepare for the second-leg.
The post 'I'm sorry': Ian Wright says he found what Arsenal player did in second-half against Bayern really 'strange' appeared first on TBR Football.