Club Brugge vs Arsenal ref watch: Three decisions Sven Jablonski got wrong as Noni Madueke avoids sanction
Arsenal romped to a routine 3-0 win against Club Brugge in the Champions League as Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli each netted brilliant strikes.
Arsenal were aiming to continue their 100% win record in the Champions League, and Madueke‘s stunning 25th minute strike sent them on their way to another three points in the first-half.
The England star doubled the Gunners’ lead just minutes into the second-half as he headed the ball into an empty net from Martin Zubimendi’s cross.
Martinelli made it 3-0 soon after with a fine strike of his own after cutting in from the left-wing, and they held on to win by that margin despite some late Brugge pressure.
German official Sven Jablonski took charge of proceedings in Belgium, and Football Insider have picked out three decisions that he got wrong on the night.
Arsenal should have had a corner with goal-kick wrongly awarded
Arsenal piled the pressure on in the early stages of the game and should have been handed the chance to score from a corner in the 22nd minute.
It is widely known that Arsenal are one of the best teams at attacking corners in world football, and they should have been given one as Viktor Gyokeres‘ header clearly deflected onto Joel Ordonez before it went out of play after a good cross by Martinelli.
Referee Jablonski instead pointed to the six-yard box for a Brugge goal-kick, much to the annoyance of the Swedish striker as his side aimed to take the lead.
Noni Madueke deserved a booking for foul on Joaquin Seys
Goalscorer Madueke was his side’s best player of the evening, but he was lucky to escape without a yellow card after a clear foul on Seys that went unpunished by Jablonski.
The Gunners were caught short in the 37th minute as Brugge cleared from a poor long-throw and aimed to counter-attack down the right-wing, with Madueke barging into the left-back just after he passed to Carlos Forbs.
Jablonski did play advantage as former Wolves man Forbs powered forward and shot straight at David Raya, but Madueke got away with the clear professional foul as play went on and it was forgotten about.
Raphael Onyedika should have been booked for foul on Martin Odegaard
Arsenal captain Odegaard has not long returned from injury after a lengthy lay-off, and he was arguably lucky not to be back in the treatment room after a bad challenge by Onyedika was not punished in the 61st minute.
Arteta’s side had just gone three up, and the 24-year-old’s frustrations were made clear as he jumped into a standing tackle with Odegaard after he had dragged the ball back neatly.
Jablonski did give a foul as Arsenal relieved some pressure in their own half with a free-kick, but he failed to brandish a yellow to Onyedika that he surely deserved for the aggressive nature of the challenge.