‘Unbelievable’: Tuchel and Azpilicueta completely disagree about Arsenal’s penalty decision last night

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Arsenal picked up a 4-2 win over Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea last night and Cesar Azpilicueta was not a happy man at the end of the game.

The Gunners took the lead twice in the first half through Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe. The hosts, however, responded well and went in at the break on level terms.

Poor defending allowed Arsenal back in as Nketiah scored for the second time. Chelsea were still in the game, but Azpilicueta fouled Saka inside the box in the 90th minute and the youngster converted from the spot to help his side take all three points.

The Spanish captain was absolutely furious after the referee awarded Saka a penalty. He just didn’t agree with the decision and had a real go at the Arsenal number seven and many of his teammates as well.

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Thomas Tuchel and Azpilicueta disagree about Arsenal’s penalty

Azpilicueta’s antics after the referee’s decision made it clear that he thought it wasn’t a penalty. His boss, on the other hand, disagreed and claimed in his press conference that his side were at fault to concede a silly foul inside the box.

Tuchel said, as per Football London: “Look at the penalty, and it is an unbelievable goal from our ball possession.

“There are no tactics behind that. We have three ball losses in ten seconds. Then we do a foul where there’s not even the slightest danger.

“We foul a person, it is a penalty, and we rob ourselves of six minutes for an equaliser. What is there to analyse? There’s nothing to analyse.”

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Was it a penalty?

Azpilicueta was adamant that Saka was holding his hand and pulling him down. Replays show that the Gunners winger was indeed grabbing hold of the Spaniard’s arm, but that’s not the entire story.

The Chelsea man was holding Saka as well and the youngster just couldn’t get away. He hit the ground as a result and the referee correctly awarded a spot-kick.

Azpilicueta may not agree with us, but his manager clearly does.

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