‘There’s no need!’ – Michael Owen bewildered as Marko Arnautovic misses chance because of his own ‘arrogance’
Arnautovic #Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic was the hero for Inter Milan in their 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid but legendary striker Michael Owen warned him about an earlier moment of arrogance.
The Austrian forward was the match-winner in the first leg of the last 16 clash as the Italian giants eye another place in the final.
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Arnautovic did a no-look motion not once, but twice in the same playCredit: @footballontnt X
But it was an earlier effort that caught Owen’s attention.
During the second-half at the San Siro, Arnautovic played a neat one-two with Lautaro Martinez and had a great chance to score.
However, his effort went sailing over the bar and out for an Atletico goal-kick, with the forward visibly frustrated.
Replays show that he did a no-look motion for both his pass and shot in the sequence, but Owen was not pleased with the unnecessary flair.
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“You mentioned humility and you’re right but I think there’s a bit of arrogance,” he said to co-pundit Joe Cole on TNT Sports.
“I mean no wonder, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Mario] Balotelli, look at this no-look pass and I believe that there’s a no-look finish as well here.
“When you do that, your head is a heavy part of your body and that would distribute your weight backwards, as soon as he turns his head his chest goes back, his whole body goes back and what happens? The ball goes over.
“There’s no need to do any no-look of anything in front of the goal, keep everything over the ball and score a goal. I thought there was a tiny little bit of arrogance in that finish, let’s say.”
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His second no-look saw his shot go over the bar and out of playCredit: @footballontnt X
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Owen disapproved it, but still offered smirk at the cheekiness of itCredit: @footballontnt X
Luckily for Arnautovic, he emerged as Inter’s hero on the night as he scored the only goal in a crucial 1-0 first leg win.
Jan Oblak saved Martinez’s initial shot but Arnautovic sneaked in the rebound, doing so without a no-look finish.
The 34-year-old is playing in the Champions League for the first time in 13 seasons, with his latest goal his fourth in the competition.
Arnautovic initially joined Inter on loan from Twente in 2009 before eventually going on to spend six seasons in the Premier League.
He featured for Stoke City and West Ham, with most of his success coming at the former as he scored 26 goals and assisted another 32 for the club in four years.
The forward left England for China to sign for Shanghai Port before returning to Europe with Bologna and then making a comeback at Inter.