Arsenal denied ‘clear’ penalty against Bayern Munich as Mikel Arteta says crucial ‘moment’ missed

Bukayo Saka went down in the box after a collision with Manuel Neuer but the VAR reviewed the incident and decided it wasn’t a penalty

Bukayo Saka was brought down by Manuel Neuer (Getty Images)

Bukayo Saka was denied a last-gasp penalty in stoppage time as Arsenal fought back to claim a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.

The England international was through on goal but stuck out his right leg as he was brought down by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the box.

The incident was checked by VAR but Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg was not instructed to look at his pitchside monitor.

Leandro Trossard, who came off the bench to fire Arsenal level late on, said there was “clear contact” and it should have been given.

Speaking on TNT Sports, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown and Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand agreed that it was a penalty.

Keown suggested the decision to not check the collision at pitchside was “alarming” while Ferdinand said: “It has to be a penalty. They had to send him to look at it.”

Saka led Arsenal’s appeals after full-time, but manager Mikel Arteta remained tight-lipped on the incident ahead of next week’s second leg in Munich.

Instead, the Spaniard said the “moment of the game” was when defender Ben White saw a chance saved by Neuer, just after Saka had fired Arsenal into the lead.

White shot straight at Neuer after being put through on goal, before Arsenal gifted Bayern a route back into the game with a defensive mix-up at the back.

Serge Gnabry finished off a swift move after Gabriel gave the ball away before Harry Kane returned to haunt Arsenal as he converted a penalty following a foul on Leroy Sane.

Arsenal’s substitutes combined as Gabriel Jesus set up Trossard’s equaliser but Arteta said his side should have had more control after taking the lead.

“The game had different moments,” Arteta told TNT Sports.  “We started really well, we were dominant, didn’t concede anything.

“We scored a really good goal and after that is the moment of the game when Ben [White] is in front of [Manuel] Neuer and if it was 2-0 it would have been a very different game.

"They scored and it created some uncertainty, the second goal was unusual for us to concede but it is the Champions League, you make a mistake and get punished.

"We allowed them the spaces to run and they were very dangerous but even at 2-1 we tried to make a rhythm, we were composed and didn’t try to rush things and the changes had an impact on the game.

"In the Champions League you give something they will take it. You get punished. That is part of football as well.The things we can control is do the simple things better."