Micah Richards has applauded Gabriel Magalhaes for ‘stepping up’ and taking a penalty against Paris Saint-Germain, but believes Noni Madueke should have been given the nod for Arsenal’s fifth spot-kick. Saturday’s Champions League final had to be decided via a nerve-shredding shootout, with the scoreline locked at 1-1 after Ousmane Dembele had cancelled out Kai Havertz’s stunning early strike in Budapest. It was the holders PSG who prevailed for a second time in as many seasons, ensuring Arsenal’s quest to be crowned European champions will continue into next season.
While Nuno Mendes was denied by David Raya, a stuttering Eberechi Eze struck wide from 12 yards before Gabriel fired over the crossbar with a wild effort to confirm the Gunners’ fate. There was a rapid turnaround for Mikel Arteta’s squad, who had to catch a 2am flight back from Hungary to celebrate their Premier League triumph with supporters at an open-top bus parade on the streets of north London just hours later. The jubilant scenes masked any lingering disappointment after the club’s hopes of securing a historic double went up in smoke.
Questions Over Arsenal’s Penalty Takers
Questions surrounding Arsenal’s apparent lack of firepower up front have since risen to the surface again, while Thierry Henry was among those to criticise Gabriel’s position in the list of penalty takers. ‘I always say when you go and take the penalty I will always have respect for you,’ the ex-Arsenal and France striker said on CBS Sports. ‘I don’t know why he went, I don’t know how he arrived to be the fifth guy but he went. How he played all season and tonight was immense. But he missed it. But he didn’t hide.’
Henry’s CBS colleague, Richards, took a similar stance as he looked back on Arsenal’s missed opportunity while speaking with Gary Lineker on The Rest Is Football. ‘When Gabriel stepped up, though… I don’t want to say he looked nervous because you could probably say that about every player that stepped up, but I was wondering what technique he was going to use,’ the former Manchester City and England defender said. ‘So when you’re a defender and you’re approaching a penalty, defenders union and all that, we just say hit it as hard as you can. That’s what we think. When he was running up and taking it, he didn’t look confident, you know? It’s almost like he just wanted to get it over and done with.’
Richards added: ‘I can’t remember who was sat next to me who said, “Gabriel’s going to hit this as hard as he possibly can and it’s going to go over the bar”, and that’s exactly what happened as well. You just got a sense and a feeling. But fair play to him for stepping up, he wanted to lead by example, but I would have liked to have seen Madueke take one, a technician. I know it’s easy saying that after the event but that’s why you’ve got the players, they have better technique, they play in forward positions because they have better technique. Even if you’re nervous your probability is higher if you’re more technical.’
Richards: Technical Players Should Step Up
Though keen not to ‘throw Madueke under the bus’, Richards stressed that a team’s ‘technical players’ should always be nearer the front of the queue in a shootout. ‘That’s not me throwing Madueke under the bus,’ he added. ‘I just think if you’ve got technical players on the pitch then you give yourself a better chance, that’s all.’ In the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s crushing setback at the Puskas Arena, Declan Rice said both Gabriel and Eze had the full support of the entire squad. ‘They are devastated to miss a penalty in the Champions League final,’ he told reporters. ‘It is not nice. But we love them, we are with them and that happens in football. They are not going to be the last players to miss penalties in finals. Everyone has missed a penalty and without those two this season we wouldn’t have won the Premier League, that is for sure.’
The Arsenal and England midfielder added: ‘I’ve ran out of words for Gabriel, as a person, as a player. Eze as well. The crucial goals he has come up with this year. It is cruel, but it’s football.’ The debate over Arsenal’s penalty takers is likely to continue as the club regroups for the next season.
