UEFA brutally told they should have cancelled Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid after 35 minutes

Wesley Sneijder claimed UEFA had to get ‘both teams off the pitch’, such was the dearth of quality between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

Sneijder, a former Champions League winner himself, only had to witness the first half in the second leg of Arsenal and Atleti’s Champions League semi-final on Tuesday in order to form his damning verdict.

What was Sneijder’s reaction to Arsenal v Atletico Madrid?

“I said after 35 minutes, UEFA must intervene,” Sneijder said on Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport’s coverage.

“They need to call London: both teams off the pitch, and tomorrow the final will be played between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

“I knew this would happen, Atletico dropped back and gave away possession, and Arsenal had a lot of control over the ball.”

However, the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan midfielder reserved special praise for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who masterminded a gritty 1-0 win on the night to help the Gunners reach the Champions League final for the first time in two decades.

Sneijder: Arteta ‘deserves a statue’

“I looked at the players again, and Arteta already deserves a statue,” Sneijder said.

“He simply doesn’t have any top players, and with the current squad, he manages to push Atletico back, which is impressive.”

Bukayo Saka was the hero for the Gunners on Tuesday as his tap-in from close range proved to be the difference.

The Gunners skipper was quickest to react after Leandro Trossard’s powerful strike from inside the box was kept out by Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Saka’s goal continued his improved form since returning from an Achilles injury having got on the scoresheet and bagged an assist during Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Fulham last Saturday.

With the Gunners now in the driving seat for the Premier League title following Manchester City’s slip-up against Everton coupled with a Champions League final to look forward to, Saka’s rejuvenation couldn’t have come at a better time.

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Despite the opportunity to now win two major trophies, Arteta was keen to keep a level head.

“The high is not too high, the low is not too low, my job is to be quite stable,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference.

“I really will enjoy it, everyone is enjoying this moment now.

“Tomorrow [Wednesday], we have to start to prepare for Sunday, we have an incredible game now to play against West Ham, a really tough one and we’re going to have four days to do that.

“It’s great, let’s enjoy the moment.”

Arsenal travel to the London Stadium to face the Hammers on Sunday at 4:30pm.

Victory over West Ham would improve Arsenal’s lead over City at the top of the table to eight points, although the latter will have two games in hand.