Arteta furious over Sunderland penalty call
Mikel Arteta slammed an “unacceptable” Sunderland penalty decision in Arsenal’s 2-0 win, even after Raya saved it.
Mikel Arteta didn’t hold back. The Arsenal boss was furious about a penalty awarded to Sunderland in the 2-0 win at the Stadium of Light, calling it “unacceptable.”
The incident came in the 54th minute when referee John Brooks pointed to the spot after judging that defender Ezri Konsa held Dan Ballard. As reported by the Premier League Match Centre, the call was checked and confirmed by VAR.
VAR check explained
The same source lays out the VAR exchange between the on-pitch referee and VAR:
- REF: “He’s all over him at the near post facing the wrong way.”
- VAR: “I’m happy that it’s a holding offence. The foul is confirmed. Confirming the on-field decision of penalty.”
Even though David Raya saved Enzo Le Fée’s spot-kick, Arsenal struck quickly: Bruno Guimarães scored the opener just 121 seconds later. Still, Arteta focused on the penalty decision and what it can mean over the course of a Premier League season.
“This can’t happen”
At the start of his press conference, Arteta said: “The first question we have to discuss is this. This is not acceptable at this level,” as quoted by Sky Sports. He argued that decisions like this can end up costing a team—regardless of the final result.
Source: Sky Sports.
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SunderlandSaturday 21 November · 10:00Kick-off, where to watch and line-ups →
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