It was never going to be humdrum and quiet, was it?
Not when the stakes are this high, with one club so desperate and the other so resolute. On Wednesday evening, Arsenal marched into the semi-final of the Champions League, and although they were stilted stylistically, their opponents, Real Madrid, refused to go gently.
Both sides tugged, pulled, tackled and pushed — scarcely has a goalless first half ever brought such a glut of controversial decisions. The referee, Francois Letexier, spent more time on the screen than Declan Rice, Rodrygo, and Antonio Rudiger combined.
So while Arsenal may have comfortably progressed after a 2-1 win on the night, securing a 5-1 triumph on aggregate, several head-scratching passages of play (and some off-pitch very much non-play) require further attention.
We’ve analysed the quarter-final second leg’s most contentious moments…
Real Madrid had been openly speaking of the notion of a Remontada — a miraculous comeback from the brink of elimination — but their night was closer to beginning with a red card than a mood-altering goal.
David Alaba went straight through Bukayo Saka after four minutes — seemingly envisaged as a statement of intent, but one that was late and clearly demonstrated excessive force.
The 32-year-old Austria international was late and out of control and the incident felt more serious than the yellow he received. But without direct contact from Alaba’s studs, and after just four minutes, Letexier was always unlikely to give a red.
Letexier’s next significant decision came out of the blue after 13 minutes. Only Mikel Merino seriously appealed when the Arsenal forward was hauled down in the Real Madrid area during a corner kick, his Arsenal team-mates merely dropping back into their own half to deal with Thibaut Courtois’ clearance.
Then came the video assistant referee (VAR) into Letexier’s ear, recommending he consult the pitch-side monitor. This is what it showed.
Merino and Raul Asencio both grab each other’s arms, like wrestlers preparing for a high-school bout. Merino fakes to step inside and moves to Asencio’s outside…
… where he grabs Asencio’s left arm. He appears to initiate contact. But as Merino spins away, Asencio’s arm stretches to grab his countryman around the waist like a rugby tackle.
Merino goes down. After a three-minute delay, Letexier gives a penalty after consulting the monitor. A Madrid supporter might argue that Merino initiated contact and fouled Asencio first. An Arsenal sympathiser would say that Merino’s grab was intended to toss away Asencio’s grasping arm — and while he did not impede Asencio’s movement, the arm around his own waist did.
But when Saka missed the resulting penalty, his attempted Panenka batted away by Courtois, it left the tie alive.
BUKAYO SAKA MISSES! ⛔
Real Madrid have a lifeline…
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/1meC2fURLC
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2025
THIBAUT COURTOIS SAVES BUKAYO SAKA’S EARLY PENALTY ⛔ pic.twitter.com/3NBgGAldIK
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 16, 2025
Ten minutes later, Rice was marking Kylian Mbappe in the Arsenal box and the France forward ended up on the floor. There was no indecision from Letexier here. Penalty to Real Madrid. Arsenal were incensed.
Their frustration was compounded by a yellow card being shown to Rice, which would have ruled him out of the first leg of the semi-final should they qualify. It would also have meant the midfielder was walking a tightrope for the remaining hour of this match.
Rice argued intently with his England team-mate Jude Bellingham, the two gesticulating inches from each other’s faces.
The VAR began to look at the incident, taking four minutes to decide whether Letexier should consult the screen. Mbappe was narrowly onside from Asencio’s flick-on, which appeared to be heading out for a goal kick.
Rice’s arms were loosely around his opponent’s torso and as Mbappe begins to sprint for the ball, he feels the touch on his chest and goes down. However, it appears clear that Rice’s intervention has not forced Mbappe to the floor — he has gone down of his own volition.
Letexier is sent to the screen. On British broadcaster TNT Sports, the pundit and former Champions League winner Rio Ferdinand expresses his opinion that it is not a penalty, but that in slow-motion, these challenges look more deliberate. After awarding Arsenal a soft penalty minutes earlier, he is concerned that the referee may feel a precedent has been set and decide there is not enough evidence to overturn his original verdict.
After another minute of looking, Letexier makes his decision — no penalty and no yellow card. Mbappe is not booked for a dive.
“I knew it wasn’t a penalty,” Rice told TNT Sports after the match. “Don’t get me wrong, I had my arm around him, but you have to do that in the box. You have to try to stop him, you aren’t just going to let him go.
“I’m an honest guy and I said to him (Mbappe) and I said to (Lucas) Vazquez as well that I would admit it if I pulled him down. But he just fell to the floor and I was fully confident it would get overturned.”
The Bernabeu erupted in howls and whistles, their dreams of a Remontada tossed to the floor with Mbappe. For the remainder of the first half, angst was in the air, with Real Madrid playing like an aggrieved Argentina.
Both teams were rough at set pieces, but Real Madrid’s centre-back Rudiger was particularly aggressive, grappling with his opposite man well before the kick was taken. Having already been told to change his decision twice, Letexier kept his whistle out of his mouth.
Arsenal suffered 18 fouls in the game, the most in any Champions League game this season.
First-half stoppage time was seven minutes long — an age in any ordinary game, but it felt like a blink in this — which was surprisingly short considering VAR checks alone took eight minutes.
As Real Madrid trudged off, Mbappe complained to the fourth official, raising both palms skyward. Courtois and Vinicius Junior headed straight for the referee.
The biggest drama, however, came from a figure who was not even playing. Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal, out since October with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, beckons Saka towards him as the Arsenal forward trails off the pitch, having missed that penalty earlier in the half.
Carvajal (in the beige jumper and black trousers) leans towards Saka and says something into his ear…
… before the England international replies, clearly trying to leave Carvajal and head towards the changing room.
However, Carvajal follows Saka and attempts to regain his attention by grabbing the back of his neck in a pincer motion…
… which Saka immediately takes offence to, spinning Caravajal around and seemingly demanding that the Real Madrid captain release him. The pair are immediately separated by security.
Saka would score 20 minutes after the game resumed, successfully chipping Courtois this time. His celebration was to shush the Bernabeu.
But even before Arsenal took their lead, both sides had continued to come to blows in an opening to the second half that lacked none of the aggro of the first.
Rice’s duel with Bellingham typified this. Rice was outstanding, just as he had been in the first leg, both setting Arsenal’s tempo and breaking down Real Madrid’s attacks. He repeatedly clashed with Bellingham, the pair tangling legs five minutes into the second period and exchanging words furiously.
(David Ramos/Getty Images)
Bellingham burst into the Arsenal box moments later, appearing to have the opportunity to shoot…
… before Rice hauls himself back and firmly dispossesses the Real Madrid midfielder. Bellingham appeals for a penalty, but Letexier shows no interest in awarding it.
Frustrated, Bellingham throws Arsenal right-back Jurrien Timber to the floor moments later.
But the greatest act of violence came after 59 minutes, courtesy of the studs and body weight of Rudiger.
The teenage full-back Lewis-Skelly was tumbling to ground, having been shoved in the back by the Real Madrid defender.
Rudiger was unable to rearrange his feet in time to avoid the Arsenal defender and lands with his full force on Lewis-Skelly’s lower stomach, leaving the 18-year-old writhing in pain on the ground.
Rudiger holds up his hands to imply it was an accident, although he does not appear to take emergency action to shift his position mid-air.
Amazingly, no foul was given. Play restarted with a drop-ball. Saka scored five minutes later, before Vinicius Jr immediately equalised following a mistake by William Saliba.
Rudiger, meanwhile, did not receive a yellow card until the 85th minute, when he fouled Merino in the back. Thomas Partey made Arsenal’s only mistake of the closing period by reacting to the challenge and bumping Rudiger in the chest. The subsequent yellow card means the Ghana international will miss the first leg of Arsenal’s semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Given Vinicius Jr’s goal came from a mistake, Rudiger’s intimidation was the main way Real Madrid threatened.
Their tie was summed up by Mbappe’s departure — having injured his ankle in the process of fouling Rice, he limped from the field to the sound of whistles from around the stadium. There are high expectations in the Spanish capital.
By the time Gabriel Martinelli broke away to score Arsenal’s winner on the night, Real Madrid were exhausted and flat.
They had punched themselves out like a red-cheeked and tantruming toddler, now in need of a nap.
The decisions of the first half were long forgotten.
(Top photo: TNT/David Ramos/Getty Images)