Atletico Madrid defender Marc Pubill appeared to get slapped in the face by Gabriel Jesus as he aggressively intruded on Arsenal’s celebrations after last night’s Champions League semi-final second leg.
A week on from the sides’ 1-1 draw in Madrid, Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal to send the Gunners through to this year’s final, where they will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich.
Budapest’s Puskas Arena will stage Arsenal’s second-ever appearance in a Champions League final on May 30, two decades on from the club’s painful defeat to Barcelona when Arsene Wenger was at the helm.
Wild celebrations broke out at the Emirates as referee Daniel Siebert blew his whistle to signal full-time, with Mikel Arteta’s jubilant squad soaking up the occasion with supporters inside the stadium.
But the moment took an unsavoury turn as Atleti right-back Pubill shoved an unsuspecting Viktor Gyokeres from behind, sparking a furious reaction from Cristhian Mosquera and Jesus, who had been arm-in-arm with their Swedish team-mate.
Fan footage shows Mosquera attempting to shepherd Pubill away from Gyokeres, but not before Jesus appeared to land a heavy blow on the side of the Spaniard’s face – sending his head spinning backwards.
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Declan Rice were both seen trying to deescalate the situation and Pubill eventually off walked off, before making his way towards the away dressing room in north London.
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It is unclear what exactly triggered Pubill to approach Gyokeres and neither manager was asked about the incident when facing the media in the immediate aftermath.
However, Gyokeres gave Atleti’s defenders a torrid time for much of the clash, proving a handful up front in what is arguably his finest and most important performance yet for the Gunners.
‘He was immense,’ Arteta said of Gyokeres’ display when talking to Amazon Prime shortly after the final whistle.
‘You can see the reaction from the crowd every time he had the ball, his work-rate and what he’s giving the team is just incredible.’
More to follow.