Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal LIVE: Arteta ‘fuming’ over controversial penalty decision that ‘changes course’ of Champions League tie

A furious Mikel Arteta said he was “incredibly fuming” with VAR’s decision to overturn a late Arsenal penalty in his side’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Atletico Madrid.

Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez both scored from the spot before Dutch referee Danny Makkelie awarded Arsenal a third penalty of the night after Eberechi Eze was sent tumbling by David Hancko’s outstretched right leg with 10 minutes of the semi-final first leg remaining.

However, VAR intervened before Makkelie controversially overturned his own decision.

“Make sure they eat, sleep and get a lot of love to make sure they are in the best position,” he told TNT Sports.

“We know when we play at home with our fans it will be different for sure and we just have to do our job, be at our best. For sure it’s going to be a good game,” the Arsenal goalscorer told TNT Sports.

It feels like the big question in this semi-final is whether Atletico can raise it again, in much more testing circumstances.

Arsenal still actually have a job to do, after an awkward Saturday home match against Fulham. The time is quickly coming for debates to end and everything to become clear.

“We gave it our best shot,” the Atletico captain told Movistar. “We started off on the back foot. We had chances to win but it will all come down to the second leg. They defend very well and have some very fast players up front.”

Marcos Llorente on whether the tie is still wide open, to Movistar: “Absolutely. They dominated the first half, and we dominated the second. We need to build on that second half.”

His reaction to how the match unfolded: “We struggled to win the ball back and were rushing things in the final third. That comes back to haunt you because we don’t create that many chances, and we failed to capitalise on the ones we had. We improved in the second half, and that’s what we’ll take away from this.”

“We played better in the second half,” the player of the match said. “We also played with more intensity. That’s the way to go, and that’s what we’ll do in the second leg – it’ll be a great game.

“We want to reach the final. I’ve prepared a lot for this match and the one in London, and hopefully we can make it to the final.”

“Arsenal have the possibility of winning the Champions League – which they’ve never done before – and they have the possibility of winning the Premier League,” Chris Sutton told BBC radio.

“The fact that it’s 1-1 now and they go back to the Emirates where it’ll be raucous before kick off but there will be the same nervousness because of what’s at stake.

“It’s a huge game and the expectation will be on Arsenal to win because they’re playing Atleti at home, a side they’ve already beaten 4-0 in the Champions League this season. That will bring its own pressures.

“This isn’t a free-scoring Arsenal team, and Atleti showed that they are a very capable team in the second half this evening.”

Arsenal will look to extend their gap on top of the Premier League when Fulham visit on Saturday at 17:30 before Atletico come to the Emirates next Tuesday.

Simeone’s side visit Valencia at 15:15 on Saturday.