Mikel Arteta’s men booked their spot in the semi-finals—where they’ll face Paris Saint-Germain—after sealing victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. ..Continue Reading
Arsenal entered the second leg with a 3-0 cushion from the first leg, but failed to increase their lead early on when Saka’s penalty was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
The England international later redeemed himself in the 65th minute, chipping the ball over Courtois to finish off a clever through pass from Mikel Merino.
Just two minutes later, Vinicius Junior took advantage of a slip from William Saliba to equalise for Real, but Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time strike secured a 2-1 win on the night and a dominant 5-1 aggregate triumph.
Saka also found himself involved in a heated moment with Carvajal at halftime, as the players made their way down the tunnel.
Carvajal, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since October and didn’t feature in the match, confronted Saka, grabbing him by the neck mid-conversation.
When Saka tried to walk away, the Real Madrid defender held onto his arm and refused to release him until an Arsenal staff member intervened.
Despite being unfit to play, Carvajal was spotted later in the match watching from a corporate box at the Bernabeu.
According to Marca, Carvajal was reportedly angered by what he saw as Saka’s ‘disrespectful’ attempt at a Panenka penalty in front of the Madrid crowd.
Ironically, Carvajal himself once scored a Panenka during a penalty shootout in Spain’s Nations League final win over Croatia in 2023.
Now, the veteran right-back may face disciplinary action from UEFA for his conduct. Since he wasn’t named in the matchday squad due to injury, Carvajal should not have been in the technical area during the game.
UEFA has previously punished similar breaches—back in 2014, Xabi Alonso received a one-match suspension after celebrating on the sidelines during the Champions League final while serving a ban.
That penalty saw him miss Madrid’s subsequent UEFA Super Cup clash with Sevilla.
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