UEFA release statement on Arsenal penalty vs Slavia Prague after VAR intervention

UEFA have confirmed the reasoning behind their decision to award Arsenal a penalty during their Champions League tie against Slavia Prague. Mikel Arteta's squad were seeking to secure their fourth consecutive European victory against the Czech outfit in their capital city.

The Gunners dominated proceedings early on and nearly opened the scoring through Gabriel within the opening minute, whilst Bukayo Saka also posed an early threat. Nevertheless, Arsenal had to remain patient until the 32nd minute before finding the breakthrough.

Saka's corner delivery struck the hand of Lukas Provod inside the penalty area, prompting VAR officials to intervene and award a spot kick.

The England winger stepped forward to slot home the penalty, dispatching his effort beyond Jakub Markovic from 12 yards.

UEFA's official statement declared: "Decision overturned: penalty awarded. Slavia Praha's player No17 touched the ball with his left hand, which was in an unnatural position above the shoulder and making his body bigger."

By converting the penalty, Saka etched his name into Arsenal history books as the first Gunners player ever to find the net in four successive away fixtures in the Champions League.

Victory for Arsenal this evening would maintain their flawless European campaign this term, strengthening their position atop the Champions League league phase standings.

Technical problems earlier disrupted the match for TNT Sports, as commentary from Sam Matterface and Martin Keown was echoed on the airwaves.

The broadcaster's host, Laura Woods, had to step in and offer her apologies, confirming that commentary would instead be provided from TNT's London offices.

"Ladies and gents as you can tell, we are having a few problems so I'm going to introduce our own commentary through Owen Hargreaves and Anita Asante," she said.