Mikel Arteta has voiced his confusion over why Martin Odegaard had a goal disallowed in Arsenal’s 1-0 win against FC Porto last night.
The Norwegian international found the back of the net in the second half as many in the stadium thought the Arsenal stadium had made it 2-0, only for the referee to cancel out the goal for an earlier foul.
To say the foul was soft would be an understatement, with supporters and pundits puzzled by the decision to rule out what looked like a legitimate goal from Odegaard.
Mikel Arteta delivers verdict on Martin Odegaard’s disallowed goal
And talking to the press via Arsenal’s official website, Arteta himself admitted that he ‘could not understand’ why Odegaard had his goal disallowed, with the Arsenal captain also confused.
Whilst the Gunners went on to win the game on penalties, a lot of stress could have been avoided had Odegaard’s goal been allowed to stand.
And Arteta maintains that the goal should have been given, with the Arsenal manager saying about the incident: “I haven’t seen the replay.
“Live, I could not understand, but if he made that decision, maybe there was something there. I’m sure we are not going to remember that, we are going to remember that we did it in a special way.”
Arsenal showed a champion mentality in win vs Porto
Many Arsenal fans expected the worse when Odegaard’s goal was ruled out and the game eventually went to penalties, with flashbacks from last year’s loss to Sporting Lisbon rushing back.
Yet this time was a lot different for the Gunners, who showed maturity and confidence in the shootout as Odegaard kicked-off the penalty win in emphatic fashion.
Arsenal winning on penalties was a mark of potential European champions, and the north London side will be eager to push on from this moment after breaking their knockout curse once and for all.
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