“I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career” : Mikel Arteta furious after Brighton penalty decision as Gunners drop crucial points
Mikel Arteta was disappointed after Arsenal were held to a draw by Brighton on Saturday. The Gunners opened the scoring through Ethan Nwaneri in the 16th minute, as the visitors looked poised for a comfortable evening away from home. However, the hosts were awarded a controversial penalty in the second half, which was converted by Joao Pedro in the 61th minute.
William Saliba missed the ball as he struck his head into Joao Pedro’s forehead during a corner kick for Brighton. The referee decided to award a penalty kick which shocked the Arsenal players, and left Mikel Arteta fuming post the final whistle.
Arsenal boss stated that he had never seen a decision like this in his lifetime, and neither did his players too. “I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career. I asked the boys, and they have never seen anything like it,” said Arteta.
Mikel Arteta also spoke about his team’s below par performance, as his side lacked control after opening the scoring in the first 20 minutes of the game.
“First of all One thing, I’m disappointed with the result, especially since we started the match very well and scored a beautiful goal, but then we lacked control, lost the ball, and didn’t do the simple things well enough to be on top of the match and control the course of the match as required. The game was always open without us conceding any goals.”
Arsenal drop two vital points in bid to win Premier League title
This draw leaves Arsenal five points behind league leaders Liverpool, who also have two games in hand. The Gunners now face an uphill task if they are to win the league title from here on.
Arsenal will now host Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals, as they play five successive league games. They will also host Manchester United at the Emirates next week for the FA Cup third round clash.
Mikel Arteta stated that a lot of things were not up to the mark in the second half as the players looked pretty tired and exhausted. The Spaniard stated that the intensity had dropped in the second half, as he believes that his side lost two points against Brighton.
On the second half performance: “We did a lot of things that were not at the desired level with the ball so we did not get any momentum We never settled in areas where we could create opportunities and counter-pressure at the right moment We conceded one chance when we had 10 players on the pitch, I think we have to do much better than today and unfortunately we lost two points.”
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