Should Arsenal Have Had A Penalty Vs Inter Milan After Ex Bayern Munich Veteran’s Challenge?

Arsenal felt they were unfortunate not to receive a penalty for a challenge by Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer on midfielder Mikel Merino yesterday.

Both the Gazzetta dello Sport and the Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, argue that the 35-year-old’s punch was worthy of a foul. However, replays did show that he made contact with the ball.

In the end, a penalty was decisive in yesterday’s match.

Inter received a spot kick late in the first half due to a handball by Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino. Hakan Calhanoglu successfully dispatched it for the match’s only goal.

But Merino had been at the centre of a penalty shout at the other end earlier in the half.

This came after he went to head a ball, challenging Inter keeper Yann Sommer to the ball.

The veteran former Bayern Munich and Borussia Mochengladbach keeper did certainly make contact with Merino. This led to appeals from the Arsenal players for a penalty.

However, referee Istvan Kovacs as well as VAR Christian Dingert both declined to award one.

Arsenal Wanted A Penalty Vs Inter For Yann Sommer Contact On Mikel Merino

In the view of both the Gazzetta dello Sport and the Corriere dello Sport, the officials got it wrong.

The two newspapers both argue that there was no contact by Sommer on the ball.

Therefore, they suggest, it should have been a penalty for the contact on Merino.

However, replays do tell a different story.

There is actually no doubt that Sommer did get to the ball. The Swiss punched the ball, changing its trajectory, just before clattering into Arsenal midfielder Merino.

The question then could be whether it was still an overly heavy or reckless challenge by the Inter keeper.

But that is not how Kovacs or the VAR team saw the incedent.