Mikel Arteta fumes at Newcastle’s winning goal against Arsenal
Arsenal have released a statement in support of their manager Mikel Arteta after the Spaniard laid into the officials following another controversial Premier League VAR decision. Arsenal went toe-to-toe with Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon but lost 1-0 Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game. The goal was checked by VAR for three separate issues before eventually being awarded.
Arsenal and Newcastle were pretty evenly matched in the north east. But the winning goal came midway through the second half as Gordon notched his fourth goal of the campaign.
In the lead-up to the goal, Joe Willock raced to the corner flag to keep the ball in play following a wayward shot from Jacob Murphy. As the midfielder crossed the ball into the penalty area, Joelinton appeared to shove Gabriel in the back before heading the ball back across goal to Gordon.
The VAR checks took four minutes, with the officials reviewing whether the ball had gone out of play, whether Joelinton had fouled Gabriel and whether Gordon had strayed offside. And all three of the incidents passed the checks.
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Arteta was furious after the final whistle and launched into a series of rants during his post-match interviews as he called the decision “embarrassing” and “a disgrace”. And his employers have backed him up.
“Arsenal Football Club wholeheartedly supports Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments after yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors on Saturday evening,” the Gunners wrote in a statement on their website on Sunday afternoon. We’d also like to acknowledge the huge effort and performance from our players and travelling supporters at St James’ Park.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world with the best players, coaches and supporters, all of whom deserve better. PGMOL urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies. We support the ongoing efforts of Chief Refereeing Officer, Howard Webb and would welcome working together to achieve the world-class officiating standards our league demands.”
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Arteta appeared to lose the plot after the encounter had come to an end as he told Sky Sports: “I have to be here now to say it is not acceptable. We didn’t deserve to lose the match. We lose the match because of the clear and obvious decisions. It’s embarrassing. A disgrace. That’s what it is – a disgrace. You cannot imagine the amount of messages I got saying this cannot continue. I am wasting my time. We are wasting our time. I don’t want to be in the hands of people.”
And the former midfielder then told the BBC: “It’s embarrassing what happened – how this goal stands, in the Premier League – this league we say is the best in the world. I’ve been 20 years in this country and now I feel ashamed. It’s a disgrace and there’s too much at stake here. We are trying to do incredible things and be at the highest level each week. The outcome is nowhere near the level this league needs to have. It’s not good enough. I feel embarrassed to be part of this.”
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