Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he has “never seen” a decision like the penalty awarded to Brighton in his side’s 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
Brighton forward João Pedro clashed with William Saliba in the box and was judged to have beaten the French defender to the ball, with referee Anthony Taylor hesitating before pointing to the spot.
VAR cleared the decision and Pedro stepped up to convert the penalty to level the scores at 1-1, a result which lasted until the full-time whistle and left Arteta’s side five points behind the leaders on the run, Liverpool, after playing two more games.
“We’re really disappointed with the decision leading to the goal because I’ve never seen something like that in my life,” Arteta told the BBC after the match. “He also touches the ball.”
The Premier League Match Center posted on his X account that the penalty was awarded because there had been “sufficient contact” made by Saliba.
The Spanish coach added that the penalty was not solely responsible for Arsenal dropping points for the ninth time in the league this season, having won just 10 times in the entirety of the 2023 campaign – 24.
“We did a lot of things that weren’t up to standard with the ball, so we didn’t have momentum, we were never put in areas that would have allowed us to generate chances and counter pressure at the right time,” Arteta said.
“We conceded a chance when we had 10 players on the pitch and (Yankuba) Minteh is taking off. I think we need to do much better things than today and unfortunately we lost two points.”
Arsenal took the lead in the first half thanks to a 17-year-old player Ethan Nwaneriwho became the first player to score two league goals for the club before turning 18.
Nwaneri was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli at half-time, and Arteta confirmed the young star had withdrawn due to concerns over a “muscle problem” in his post-match press conference.
Arsenal and Arteta don’t have long to take stock after Saturday’s draw as they take part in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United.
