Mikel Arteta left irate after late penalty overturned in Arsenal's draw at Atletico

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-hA1Zm19f/atl-madrid-jaarqpLQ/?mid=rX6hagpg"]With the score tied in the final stages[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eze-eberechi/Stf4BYFn/"]Eberechi Eze[/a] went down in the box under a challenge from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atl-madrid/jaarqpLQ/"]Atletico[/a] defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hancko-david/zRTnwHe5/"]David Hancko[/a], who made contact with his foot.[/p][p]Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the penalty spot but changed his mind after a VAR review to the delight of the Metropolitano stadium.[/p][p]"[b]What I'm incredibly fuming with is how the hell the penalty on (Eze) gets overturned in the manner that it happened,[/b]" [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arteta-mikel/lAbHYaQM/"]Arteta[/a] told reporters.[/p][p]"[b]This changes the course of the game at this level. I'm sorry but this cannot happen.[/b]"[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] took the lead after Hancko fouled [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gyokeres-viktor/zaBZ1xIk/"]Viktor Gyokeres[/a], who scored the resulting penalty, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alvarez-julian/bBHauDIC/"]Julian Alvarez[/a] levelled with another spot kick early in the second half after a Ben White handball.[/p][p]Arteta said he could accept that decision, after a similar penalty was given against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern Munich[/a] on Tuesday in the other semi-final, but he could not stomach the reversal of the Eze call.[/p][p]"[b]We are all fuming about it[/b]," continued Arteta.[/p][p]"[b]When you have fought so hard for nine months to be in this position, that's another goal that changed completely the course of the tie.[/b][/p][p]"[b]This cannot happen. We put so much (into) it, it cannot happen[/b]."[/p][embed guid="4f6baaca-b5c3-495f-912d-a3ae7836c886" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2049594629364863347?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]By contrast his opposite number Diego Simeone was grateful for VAR's interventions, after the White handball was also only given following a review.[/p][p]The Atletico coach also disagreed with the decision to award Arsenal a spot kick for Hancko's challenge on Gyokeres, shoving the striker's back.[/p][p]"[b]The first penalty, in my humble opinion, there is some contact behind and the player throws himself down, in the semi-final of the Champions League, I think a penalty really needs to be a penalty,[/b]" said Simeone.[/p][p]"[b]The handball was not given as handball, thanks to VAR it was a penalty, and the second penalty thanks to VAR was not a penalty. Sometimes VAR gives and sometimes it takes away.[/b]"[/p][p]The draw leaves everything to play for in the second leg in London on Tuesday, with both sides desperate to win the trophy for the first time.[/p][p]"[b]What do we have ahead of us? An extraordinary challenge,[/b]" said Simeone.[/p][p]"[b]London, Arsenal's ground, a team that has not lost at all in the Champions League.[/b][/p][p]"[b]We have huge hope and we will go there to play with everything we have.[/b]"[/p]