UEFA should have cancelled Arsenal vs Atletico before half-time: Wesley Sneijder

Champions League winner Wesley Sneijder tore into Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League semi-final win over Atletico Madrid, saying UEFA should have “cancelled” the second leg before half-time because of the poor quality of football on display.

Arsenal secured a 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium to book their place in the Champions League final with a 2-1 aggregate victory, but Sneijder was far from impressed with the contest. The former Inter Milan and Real Madrid midfielder claimed the game lacked the standard expected at Europe’s top level.

Speaking on Ziggo Sport, Sneijder said UEFA should have stepped in after just 35 minutes.

“I said after 35 minutes, UEFA must intervene,” Sneijder said. “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.”

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the match as Arsenal sealed their place in the final in Budapest. Sneijder, however, said the match failed to live up to the occasion.

The Dutchman also questioned the quality of Arsenal’s squad, while praising manager Mikel Arteta for taking the club this far in Europe.

“I looked at the players again, and Arteta already deserves a statue,” Sneijder added. “He simply doesn't have any top players, and with the current squad, he manages to push Atletico back, which is impressive.”

Arsenal have remained unbeaten in the competition so far and conceded only six goals in 14 matches during their run to the final.

Meanwhile, Atletico boss Diego Simeone refused to blame officials for his side’s exit despite a controversial penalty call during the match.

“If we were eliminated, it's because our opponent deserved to advance. They were clinical in the first half and earned their place. But what I feel is tranquillity, peace. The team gave everything they had,” Simeone said.

“We came to compete against an incredibly powerful team, and with our own strengths, we fought as hard as we could. I'm grateful to our fans, our players, and I'm proud to be where I am. I said during preseason at the stadium that we were going to compete, and we did. Unfortunately, we didn't win anything, that's true, but we reached places that aren't easy to reach.”