ARSENAL fans have been left seething after conceding a controversial penalty during their Champions League clash with Inter Milan.

The Gunners fell 1-0 down just before half-time after Mikel Merino deemed to have handled the ball inside the area, resulting in a penalty for Inter.

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That penalty was tucked away confidently by Hakan Calhanoglu and Inter took the lead with their first shot on target.

But Arsenal fans don’t think that the Italian giants should have had a penalty in the first place, slamming the decision as “diabolical”.

The ball clearly struck Merino on the hand, but the Spaniard was in close proximity to Mehdi Taremi when the ball bounced onto his arm.

And Arsenal fans think that Inter star Lautaro Martinez should have been dismissed too, just moments before the spot-kick was awarded.

The Argentine was booked in the 16th minute for some pushing and shoving in the box, but risked a second yellow when he gestured to the referee to book William Saliba later in the half.

Fortunately for Martinez, Romanian official István Kovács chose not to reach into his pocket and dismiss him for the offence.

That left Arsenal fans seething with many reacting on social media.

One fan wrote: “Am I dreaming or did Lautaro ask the ref to book Saliba which is a bookable offence while being on a booking?”

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While another fumed: “Lautaro waving for the imaginary yellow is suppose to be a card I thought.. A second for him.”

A third commented: “Never a penalty that for Inter Milan. And if we are going down the ‘letter of the law’, then Lautaro Martinez should have received a second yellow card for asking for an opponent to be booked.”

And a fourth blasted: “Lautaro waving imaginary yellow and doesn’t get his second for it. They then get a ridiculously soft pen… what’s Merino supposed to do???”

Arsenal fans had felt hard done by earlier in the half too, claiming they deserved a penalty themselves.

Merino was involved once again as the summer signing leapt up for a header at a corner kick and collided with Yann Sommer.

The Swiss shot-stopper jumped up to try and punch the ball away from trouble and ended up punching Merino in the head instead.

But after a swift VAR review it was deemed that there was no significant error.

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Manchester United and Chelsea target Viktor Gyokeres, Real Madrid eye January move for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Al-Hilal could cancel Neymar contract and move for Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United and Chelsea will lead the race for 26-year-old Sweden and Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres next summer. (Star), external

Gyokeres will be available for around £63m next summer – £20m less than his release clause. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Manchester United are also monitoring Bayern Munich’s 29-year-old Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Real Madrid will make a January move for Liverpool’s 26-year-old England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is out of contract at the end of the season (Marca – in Spanish), external

But Liverpool are prepared to block any offers for their first-team players in January. (Football Insider), external

Al-Hilal are considering cancelling the contract of 32-year-old Brazil forward Neymar in January and replacing him with rival Saudi club Al-Nassr’s 39-year-old Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham are interested in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 20-year-old Sweden midfielder Hugo Larsson. (Caught Offside), external

Crystal Palace are planning a £20m January bid for Sunderland’s 17-year-old England Under-18 midfielder Chris Rigg. (Sun), external

Everton have expressed an interest in signing Brighton’s Ghana right-back Tariq Lamptey on a free transfer when the 24-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the season. (Africa Foot – in French), external

A consortium led by US businessman Steve Rosen is close to completing a £105m takeover of Sheffield United. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Tottenham are considering a move for 23-year-old Nottingham Forest and England winger Callum Hudson-Odoi. (Football Insider), external

AC Milan, Inter Milan and Napoli are interested in Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior, 24, but the Gunners will only consider letting him leave permanently for a fee, not a loan switch. (Tutto Mercarto – in Italian), external

Brentford are among the admirers of Greece and Celta Vigo striker Anastasios Douvikas, 25. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external

West Ham will review the position of manager Julen Lopetegui if the struggling Hammers lose at home to Everton on Saturday. (Guardian), external

ARSENAL have been forced to shift their Women’s Champions League battle with Bayern Munich from the Emirates due to a rescheduled Carabao Cup game. 

Fixture clash issues have left the Gunners seeking new alternatives for the December 18 match with the German giants. 

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In May Arsenal announced plans to host all its Women’s Champions League home games at the Emirates, should the team progress beyond the contest qualifiers.

However they are facing a venue dilemma.

Earlier today the EFL confirmed December 18 as the chosen date for their men’s team’s League Cup quarters battle with Crystal Palace. 

This means the club have the dilemma of looking for a new venue for their clash with Germany’s top-flight leaders. 

SunSport understands officials are looking into solutions including the possibility of using Meadow Park as an alternative. 

The stadium, which is home to National League South side Boreham Wood FC, does not meet Uefa Infrastructure Regulations for Women’s Champions League group games.  

However it is thought the extenuating circumstances of their match being moved from the Emirates could lead to use of the ground being considered. 

One Gunners fan group expressed dismay at the match being moved from the Emirates. 

The Arsenal Women’s Supporters Trust stated they were “really disappointed by the change in priorities for this game”. 

In a post published on the social media platform X they wrote: “It’s been set in stone for a while.

“Now shifting the date affects so many people, especially travelling and international Gooners who have already booked flights and hotels.”

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Aside from their European fixtures Arsenal are hosting all their WSL home games at the Emirates this term. 

Last May the Gunners drew the largest ever crowd to a women’s club match in England.

A crowd of 60,063 attended their Champions League semi-final second leg defeat of Wolfsburg.

There are plenty of European heavyweights still outside those top eight positions, with Manchester City, in 10th, and Arsenal, 12th after losing to Inter Milan, on seven points and therefore not on pace to hit the 16-point target.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side remain favourites to win the competition for a second time, still with a 91.1% chance of reaching the last 16 and a 19.3% chance of claiming the trophy.

Arsenal are given an 80.0% chance of progressing to the last 16 but also a 58.4% chance of having to go through the knockout round play-off to do so.

City have Juventus and Paris St-Germain among their remaining fixtures, while Arsenal must face high-flying Sporting and Monaco in their next two.

Celtic are 15th and also on seven points, having boosted their hopes with a second win, beating Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday. They visit Villa in the final match on Wednesday, 29 January, when all 36 teams will play at the same time.

Celtic’s latest victory means Brendan Rodgers’ side – on the same points as the likes of Juventus (11th), Bayern Munich (17th) and Real Madrid (18th) – have a strong chance of making the top 24 (78.2%), with their last 16 hopes rated at 40.2%.

French champions Paris St-Germain are the biggest name outside the top 24, having won just one of their first four games and with City and Bayern Munich to come. The 2020 finalists are now given only a 43.4% chance of making the last 16.

View the Champions League table in full here.

The decisive moment in the match came seconds before half-time when a penalty was awarded after Mehdi Taremi’s flick on from a corner struck Merino on the hand.

It was a decision that perhaps would not have been awarded in the Premier League, with referees having moved away from awarding “soft penalties” from this season onwards.

“Our approach regarding handball, there’s only a slight change and tweak into where we’re going with that,” former referee Kevin Friend revealed ahead of the season., external

“We saw some soft penalties last season for handball. So we’re basically looking for examples where it clearly hits the arm unjustifiably, with hands above the head, or away from the body to deliberately block the ball coming into the box or going into goal.”

That differs from rules in Uefa competitions, and that variation left pundits frustrated on Wednesday.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said on TNT Sports: “Is the arm in an unnatural position? It isn’t. We have that debate again and it is ruining the game.

“It is fine margins, I don’t believe it is a penalty. The unnatural rule, who is making those rules? Have they played the game?”

Ex-Gunners defender Matt Upson added on BBC Radio 5 live: “It does my head in the way they apply that law in Europe.

“We are miles ahead of that in the Premier League, the referees have the understanding of proximity, the speed of the ball and all those things were tick, tick.

“It is just a bit of common sense.”

As for the incident involving Merino and Sommer at the other end of the pitch, former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott said on Match of the Day: “Merino gets in a good position and [Yann] Sommer comes and physically punches him.

“He’s very unfortunate not to get the penalty and Arsenal were a bit unlucky.”

CONOR BENN has been warned he is not yet in the clear over his drugs ban — despite claims he is free to pursue a grudge fight with Chris Eubank Jr.

The Essex welterweight, 28, failed two tests before he was due to fight Eubank Jr in October 2022.

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Benn, who tested positive for testosterone booster Clomifene, was cleared of intentional doping by the World Boxing Council in 2023.

Later that year the National Anti-Doping Panel also cleared him but UK Anti-Doping Panel successfully appealed that decision.

Benn yesterday claimed he has been cleared again and wrote: “I am thankful that after an incredibly challenging two years the National Anti-Doping Panel has today finally cleared me of any wrongdoing.

“The past 24 months have unquestionably been the toughest fight of my life.

“A rollercoaster period within which the WBC had already decided that I was innocent and the NADP decided in the first instance that there was no case to answer and I was free to fight.

“As someone who is passionate about boxing and an advocate for clean sport, I hope now that I have been cleared it can be understood why I maintained my innocence so strongly throughout.

“As a man of God, I bear no ill will toward UKAD or the British Boxing Board of Control.

“We have a shared ambition of a clean sport and I look forward to reconciling with the Board and moving forward together.”

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The UKAD and the Board are now considering another appeal.

A UKAD statement read: “UKAD notes that Benn has made public comments today regarding the outcome of proceedings before the independent National Anti-Doping Panel.

“The Panel concluded that it was ‘not comfortably satisfied’ that UKAD had proved that Mr Benn had committed an anti-doping rule violation for the use of Clomifene.

“The provisional suspension previously in place has been lifted and the charge against him has been consequently dismissed.

“UKAD will now carefully review the Panel’s decision in accordance with its appeal rights under the UK Anti-Doping rules.”

Benn has had two low-profile bouts in America over the past 14 months but remained outlawed by the BBBC and has no UK licence.

Despite claims from Benn’s team they requested private meetings with the BBBC to address his situation, the Board will not share its evidence.

But Saudi Arabia’s new powerbroker, Turki Alalshikh, is keen on making the Eubank Jr fight — meeting with Benn and his legendary dad Nigel at a September film premiere.

The BBBC, who sanction most of the major shows in Riyadh, remain unwilling to licence the Ilford fighter.

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