Lyon’s attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki had a night to remember because of a dismal attempt at a penalty that only contributed to the long list of woes of the Ligue 1 side.
The Dubai Super Cup is an offbeat tournament in the sense that the rules of the tournament are unlike any other.
In a given fixture, teams play against each other for 3 points, like in any other tournament. But, a draw would bring home 2 points for each team.
Further, every match, regardless of the result of the 90 minutes of play, is followed by a penalty shootout. A victory in the penalty shootout brings home 1 point.
As such, every game is worth a total of 4 points.
For Arsenal, the win implies smooth sailing, since their Premier League campaign before the FIFA World Cup break for club football also ended with a stunning victory over Wolverhampton.
It does hold some significance for the Gunners boss and his side because compared to Lyon, the team was a fairly inexperienced one filled only with players from Arsenal’s own youth academy.
The 90 minutes of play bore witness to 3 goals from newbies in pro football followed by a final scoreline of 2-1 in the penalty shootout, in favour of Arteta’s side.
That said, Rayan Cherki was easily the highlight of the match with his pathetic attempt at a panenka from the penalty spot.
To make things worse for the attacking midfielder, his wasn’t even the only panenka attempt in the shoutout. In fact, Arsenal midfielder Cătălin Cîrjan also tried and failed the exact same shot.
Unfortunately for Cherki, he was up against Karl Hein who had not let a single attempt get past him, even in the penalty shootout, and the Estonian stopper was not going to be fooled by Lyon’s 19-year-old.
Cherki, with a short, one-step run up to the spot, managed to undercut the ball perfectly, but failed to punch the ball with any appreciable force, straight into Hein’s hands.
Twitter, obviously, had a field day with fans mocking Cherki’s failed attempt at scoring a goal with many calling his shot the worst penalty to ever be taken.
Unfortunately for Rayan Cherki, he won’t have much time to mourn the loss. He will have to keep his head high despite the embarrassment, if he is to redeem himself in Lyon’s fixture against Liverpool on the 11th of December, 2022.
Fans’ Reactions
@adnan1jr – Bro thought he had that Zidane, Benzema or Hakimi dawg in him, cause he is north african
@EthanGovender29 – Worse penalty shootout I’ve ever seen in my life
@RufaroRufaro7 – bruh’s clearly taking the piss,because what is that??!
@PaulFI9 – the only thing better than a great panenka is a terrible panenka
@Tom48337721 – So this is the reason my bet didn‘t end up winning
@tetatactizz – we need to question some footballers seriously like how on earth you have made it to the top division bro istg
@MavfantillIdie – He didnt even try to disguise it lmao, u could tell from a mile away what he was going for
@hackeim – He thinks he’s THAT guy.
@ArsenalCentro – He saw Cirjan do the same and miss and thought ‘i want some of that’