During the frenzy of Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on the road at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, Dani Carvajal rushed over to grab the winger by the neck at halftime. His motivation has since been made public.
The North Londoners defeated Los Blancos in a two-leg match against all odds, and Carlo Ancelotti’s team came out on top as the current European Champions in a quite spectacular—and apologies—fashion.
With Mikel Arteta leading by three goals in the second leg, Saka, who received high appreciation from Thierry Henry during the post-match debrief, opened the scoring with a beautiful chip over Thibaut Courtois. However, it was not long before the hosts answered.
Vinicius Jr. gave the La Liga giants a ray of hope by taking advantage of William Saliba’s error just two minutes later. They couldn’t come up with another, and Gabriel Martinelli’s goal in the 93rd minute completed their two-leg victory.
Carvajal took it upon himself to challenge Saka as the score was evenly balanced at 0-0 at the half. Saka had earlier missed his penalty-spot attempt by attempting a Panenka, which was invented by Antonin Panenka of the Czech Republic.
Carvajal, who had knee surgery in October and missed the match, came up to the Englishman after halftime and seemed to clutch the back of his neck angrily. As a result, the Spaniard’s motivation perplexed the fans.
Saka, who was born in Ealing and is regarded as one of the best wingers in global football, was similarly annoyed by the unnecessary altercation. As a result, staff from both sides had to step in and separate the two before tensions could rise.
The Metro reports that Saka’s “disrespectful” attempt at a Panenka from 12 yards out infuriated the seasoned right-back, according to Spanish daily Marca. His altercation with the 23-year-old Hale End graduate has finally resulted in punishment.
According to AS, the Euro 2024 hero, who is widely regarded as one of the top defenders in international football, may face a four-match suspension under Article 15 of UEFA’s disciplinary rules. According to Section 15.a.viii:
The UEFA disciplinary regulations’ Section 15.a.viii addresses playing in a game when suspended or otherwise ineligible. A suspension of one or more games may be imposed as a punishment for this major infraction, “if such suspension is deemed appropriate”. Xabi Alonso’s one-match suspension for running onto the pitch during the 2014 Champions League final is a well-known case.
Saka and his Arsenal teammates will start getting ready for their matches against Paris Saint-Germain in the future. Carvajal will try to lead his team to La Liga triumph, even if he will be watching from the sidelines. They lag Barcelona by four points at the moment.
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