Former Arsenal manager Arsene wenger is adamant VAR would have ‘changed the history of Arsenal Football Club’.
Barcelona scored twice in the final 14 minutes to win 2-1 in Paris, but it is ex-Chelsea star Eto’o’s equaliser that still haunts Wenger.
Former Celtic forward Henrik Larsson delivered an inch-perfect pass into the path of the Cameroonian who tucked a neat finish past Manuel Almunia’s near post.
However, replays showed Eto’o had strayed beyond Kolo Toure when the pass was made.
And the failure by officials to pick up on this still eats away at Wenger over a decade later. Asked which game he wishes VAR had been used on, Arsene Wenger, speaking in 2019, told BEIN Sports: “It is the final of the 2006 Champions League, because I think Eto’o’s equaliser was offside.
“That would have changed the history of Arsenal Football Club.”
The pain of missing out on club football’s greatest prize because of a poor refereeing decision was clear for the Frenchman even at the time.
In the aftermath of the game, he said: “It’s difficult to accept losing a game any way but worse when you have to accept losing it on a wrong decision.
“The equaliser was offside and it was proven on television. We have to do something about it. It is my biggest regret.
“To play 11 against ten and be on top in that situation, but then to concede an offside goal, is difficult to accept.”
The Gunners, who are still yet to win European football’s elite prize, would have also become the first London side the lift the trophy – but that honour now belongs to Chelsea, who won the prize in 2012.
Wenger also picked another decision which benefitted Barcelona, claiming that Robin van Persie’s dismissal at the Camp Nou in 2011 could have been avoided, and also the sending off of Laurent Koscielny for conceding a penalty against an offside Robert Lewandowski when the Gunners took on Bayern Munich last season.
