Former Arsenal attacking midfielder, Samir Nasri, has claimed that the referee punished the Gunners for systematically wasting time in the first half during their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend.
Nasri insisted that the referee whistled against Mikel Arteta’s side in the second half of the encounter.
PSG defeated Arsenal 4-3 on penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw to lift the Champions League trophy for a second consecutive season.
Ousmane Dembele cancelled Kai Havertz’s goal for Arsenal after Cristhian Mosquera had felled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia inside the box in the second half.
During the shootout, Eberechi Eze, Nuno Mendes and Gabriel Magalhaes all missed their kicks.
“In the second period, the referee systematically whistled against Arsenal,” Nasri told Canal+’s Late Football Club (via GOAL).
“He punished them for their time-wasting in the first half.
“If he whistles for a penalty [Nuno Mendes’ foul on Noni Madueke], I don’t think VAR would have cancelled it. But the fact that he didn’t whistle is not a scandal either. He will never take an uncalculated risk.”
Don’t Miss
‘He’s a former President, respect him’ – Wike speaks on calls for Jonathan to contest
