Arteta left BEMUSED by Brighton’s penalty slams VAR decision after Brighton’s penalty denies Arsenal the win against Brightom

Mikel Arteta voiced his anger and disbelief over a contentious penalty decision that saw his Arsenal team drop two crucial points in their 1-1 draw against Brighton.

 

The game began positively for the Gunners, with young Ethan Nwaneri scoring a well-executed goal to give them the lead.

 

However, a disputed penalty awarded against William Saliba allowed Joao Pedro to equalize from the spot, leaving Arteta stunned by the referee’s decision.

 

The incident leading to Brighton’s equalizer occurred when Saliba was judged to have fouled Pedro in the penalty area following a clash of heads.

 

Although Saliba appeared to make contact with the ball, the referee penalized the Arsenal defender, a call that Arteta found baffling. Speaking after the match, Arteta expressed his frustration:

 

“I’ve never seen a decision like this in my life. Saliba touches the ball,” he said. “I asked the players if any of them had seen something like this, and nobody had. When you analyze it, you can clearly see the distance between the players, Joao Pedro touching the ball, and then Saliba also touching it. There was contact, yes, but it didn’t deserve a penalty.”

 

Arteta was especially critical of how quickly the decision was reviewed, claiming it lacked adequate scrutiny. “They said they checked it in just three seconds. That felt incredibly quick for such an important decision,” he added.

 

While the penalty was a key talking point, Arteta also admitted that his team’s performance overall didn’t meet their usual standards.

 

Reflecting on the match, he said, “I’m disappointed because we came here to win. We started well with some excellent football and a fantastic goal, but we couldn’t maintain that level.”

 

He recognized the difficulties his team faced, particularly with several key players absent. “We knew it would be a competitive and tough game, especially with the players we’ve lost recently. But we still managed to compete,” he commented.

 

However, Arteta was critical of his team’s second-half performance, citing numerous unforced errors as a key issue. “It wasn’t our best day. In the second half, we gave away too many simple balls, which prevented us from controlling the game. That was disappointing,” he explained.

 

In conclusion, Arteta expressed his frustration with the officiating while acknowledging areas where his team fell short, stressing the need for improvement going forward.