Arsenal have endured a difficult few days, with their season in real danger of fizzling out.
The Gunners were top of the table a week ago, but their failure to beat Aston Villa at the weekend handed the initiative to Manchester City.
In addition, Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, with Bayern Munich running out winners in Germany.
The Gunners drew 2-2 with Bayern at the Emirates Stadium, so they will have fancied their chances, but sadly they didn’t make much of an impact at the Allianz Arena.
In the first leg, there was a late penalty call for Bukayo Saka, who was through on goal and was brought down by Manuel Neuer.
The Gunners star appeared to nudge the ball on before he collided with the veteran Bayern keeper and fell to the ground.
However, referee Glenn Nyberg waved away the penalty appeals, leading to uproar from the Arsenal contingent and Saka himself.
The incident split opinion among fans and pundits alike. For instance, Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown believed it should’ve been a penalty.
However, Chris Sutton seems to be of a different opinion.
What has Chris Sutton said about Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka?
Indeed, in his latest BBC Sport column, he claims it would have been a “different story” had Saka “not dived” to attempt to win a penalty.
“I’d put Arsenal’s Champions League defeat down to their failure to win the first leg at Emirates Stadium,” wrote Sutton.
“And it would have been a different story if Bukayo Saka hadn’t dived when he was through on goal late on in that game.”
It almost seems like Sutton is hinting that the 22-year-old is partly to blame for Arsenal drawing against Bayern and then going on to lose the second leg.
TBR View
I disagree. You could argue that Saka sought to make contact with Neuer, but it’s not as though that never happens in the game, particularly in injury-time in such a high-stakes encounter.
Had Saka won the penalty and the goal converted, then there would be widespread praise. As it is, it was just one of those calls that referees sometimes give and sometimes don’t.
And even if Arsenal did win 3-2 on the night, it’s not like Bayern would’ve crumbled. So many what ifs, but in the end, the Gunners didn’t do enough over the two legs.
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