A “very disappointed” Mikel Arteta believes Joao Pedro’s penalty that denied his Arsenal side victory at Brighton should not have been given.
With Arsenal leading 1-0 through Ethan Nwaneri’s early opener, Joao Pedro went down William Saliba clashed heads with the Brighton forward as they contested a high ball.
Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot and VAR agreed with the call as there was “sufficient contact” from the Arsenal defender.
Pedro scored the spot kick and the stalemate means Arsenal are five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool having played two games more.
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Pedro converted an unusual penalty call after the Brighton forward and Saliba collided head-first in the box
Asked by Sky Sports for his take on the decision, Arteta replied: “I have never seen it in my life and Saliba touches the ball. For me, a clear no penalty.”
He later expanded in his press conference: “The game comes with a decision that is very disappointing.
“I have never seen a decision like this in my career. I asked the boys if they have and nobody has seen it before.
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Brighton and Arsenal
“When you look at the incident, the distance, the player, Joao Pedro touching the ball, Saliba touching the ball, you can see contact there.”
Asked if he felt VAR should have overturned the decision, he replied: “If I expect it? I checked and after three seconds they said they already checked it. It seems quick.”
Arteta said he did not receive an explanation from referee Taylor about the decision but the official did tell him he would take a look at it, according to the Arsenal manager.
The pundits’ view
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Jamie Redknapp and Steve Sidwell discuss Brighton’s penalty against Arsenal and are critical of the Gunners’ defensive pair Gabriel and Saliba, labelling their defending as ‘chaotic’
Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports:
“Saliba gets himself in a muddle. Then it’s just a reaction, to stick his head out to try and win the ball. It’s chaotic and it’s not what we would normally associate with Arsenal.
“Is it a penalty? Absolutely. You can see the contact.”
Steve Sidwell on Sky Sports:
“Joao Pedro has shown a bit of Brazilian flair. As the ball has come up, he reads the bounce and flicks it up. It’s a genuine attempt to get the ball from Saliba but Joao Pedro gets there before him.”
Arteta on whether Arsenal need a new forward
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri scored but came off injured at half-time, adding to the Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling blows
The draw on the south coast raised more questions as to whether Arsenal need more going forward, especially with the January transfer window now open.
The Gunners managed nine shots – their second-lowest tally in a Premier League game this season where they have had 11 men – and their Expected Goals (xG) tally of 0.8 is their second-lowest league tally of the season from those same category of matches.
Tuesday 7th January 7:00pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Asked if there is a need to act in the transfer market, Arteta said: “We cannot make a decision based on one performance or one day with a lot of circumstances. Not only the players we lost, but the fact that we had to take Ethan out, Martin we could only use for a limited time.
“Hopefully Tuesday [for the Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle, live on Sky], we will be in a better position.
“You can’t rely just on one player to do that. The process in the second half, we lacked certain things and it’s normal because we had the fluidity to work in certain areas is not the same. That’s something we can do much better and that’s on us.”
