Mikel Arteta was clearly annoyed that 10-man Arsenal didn’t take all three points against Leicester as Jamie Vardy cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first half strike late in the game.
The Gunners should have put the game to bed before the break and later lost all momentum when substitute Eddie Nketiah was shown a straight red card for a late challenge.
While the Spaniard accepted the tackle was probably deserving of the punishment, he was equally certain that Vardy should also have walked for an incident that saw him catch Shkodran Mustafi in the face with his studs.
Here’s what he had to say to Sky Sports after the match.
On his verdict of the game…
I’m extremely proud of our team and the way we played against this type of opposition; how dominant we were. The first half that we made, clearly we should have gone three or four-nil up and killed the game. That’s what you have to do against this type of opposition. With the red card decision, he doesn’t see the player, you have to know that he’s a young kid. It can be a red card, but then Leicester has to play with 10 men after 42 minutes; for one challenge [Vardy’s on Mustafi] that is between 40 and 45 minutes. That has to be a red card as well.
On which challenge he’s referring to…
One challenge that is between 40 and 45 minutes.
On the referee upgrading his decision from yellow to red for Nketiah…
I don’t understand the rules, since I’ve been in this country, I’ve never seen a referee check any of the images. But it’s the rules. I can do nothing now.
On appealing the red card…
I don’t know.
On it being damaging to lose Eddie for three games…
Yeah, we lost two points today that in my opinion we completely deserved. We lost Eddie, I don’t know for how many games. It doesn’t matter, we will go against Spurs full gas on Sunday to try to win the three points.
On the Arsenal goal…
They played tremendously well…the in terms of time and recovery is really difficult but you can see the effort and the intensity and the quality that the players are putting in. That’s why I’m extremely proud of our players.
On being frustrated at the result…
Yeah, but we have to learn as well. When you play against this opposition, you have to kill them. When you have them, you have to kill them. Also, it’s the fourth time since I’ve been here that we’ve had to play with ten men, it’s not possible for that long period to play like this against this opposition, you’re going to suffer. I didn’t like the goal we conceded but it’s part of what it is.
Vardy should’ve been sent off.. he did that on purpose, sly little ratman.
Also how come they managed 14 fouls and not a single yellow card? New breed of referees not much better than the old guard… Massey would make a better ref, she spotted that offside on Laca beautifully… but imagine the the goading..
the problem isn’t necessarily the new crop of refs, its the leadership (Mike Riley).
It makes no sense! Somehow Leicester tackle the most in the League, and get the fewest yellow cards.
“So we have Arsenal with 528 tackles leading to 308 fouls leading to 72 yellow cards, we have Leicester with 655 tackles (the most in the league) leading to 308 fouls leading to 37 yellow cards.”
Quote from the Untold Arsenal match preview that did a deep dive into Leicester’s systematic fouling [https://untold-arsenal.com/archives/82011]
Well, I don’t think that the pure number of fouls is any indicator. Of course a player who commits 3 or 4 fouls that as single incident are not yellow worthy should still be carded to stop his consistent fouling. However, with 14 fouls in theory 8 of their players could have made 1 foul and 3 of them 2 fouls. (And I don’t even count subs here) If there weren’t any grave fouls then I don’t think that would warrant a yellow. So if there wasn’t one single player in this game who fouled several times, I think it… Read more »
“We will go against Spurs full gas”
Love that.
And they should be running on empty, after Thursday’s match
Puts the fear of God in them ?
What happened to laca? From being players of the season last year to being bad under 3 different coaches? Is there a mentality issue? There were some clear cut chances? Or are we expecting too much?
inconsistent in patches
I am afraid he lost confidence for good a la Fernando Torrres.
He made a big step forward yesterday. He’s a deep lying target man in this team, like a false 9.
Is this finally a manager who calls out inconsistent officiating?
Wenger used to do it too. Don’t you remember the legendary “you are a disgrace to your federation”?
that was during a match, not in the press!
Smart move, if you said that in the press, you’d probably get a 10 match ban from these crybabies.
The Vardy foul was blatant. He kept his eyes on Musti the entire way down.
For a long time I was still seeing a player, assistant but I can see the manager in Arteta that everyone was talking about. He certainly made us into a team, one that defend, as well as attack. I’m positive, with support in the transfer window(s), he can make into a very good side again, with time even a great side.
Based on the same standard used on Nketia, Vardy should have long gone after that “accidental gash” at Mustafi. That was an unbalanced officiating. Part of the reason that I suspect that the system is not only corrupt, but equally rigged in favour of certain teams.
Cut out the red cards and voodoo injuries… We have a team performing really well here considering the mitigations. Arteta needs to be backed this summer with a DM and CAM. We do need another CB but realistically I think the above is all we will get right now. With the above added I think we will get Top 4 next season playing like this. Then next summer we can get the strong CB to replace Luiz/Sokratis and fit alongside Saliba/Mari. I think we can seriously challenge for things under Arteta in the 2021/2022 season. World Cup year too!
World cuo year…dont say like cricket world cup.
Huh?
On to the next game with some good news. We have 4 full days of recovery for the sp*rs game, and they have just have 2. Hopefully this will work in our favour. We have also lost fewer games than Man City ?
Did Wolves no good having a week off before playing us
Yeahhrrr !!! ????
I know I’m going to be in the minority here, but I though Nketiah’s red card was complete bullshit. Yes if you slow it down it looks poor, because of the contact made with his leg, but this is a real time game. He’s clearly going for the ball and just mistimes it slightly. It’s a yellow imo. He shows no elements of ‘serious foul play’, he just mistimes one. If he hadn’t of gone for that we would probably be questioning his commitment and softness. Watching something in slow motion 20 times does not give you a clear idea… Read more »
This is where football can learn a bit from rugby. Same video analysis, same length of stoppage but better decision making. The best referees also judge by watching “real time” replays.
I don’t think Eddie even knew that chap was there, he was so focussed on the ball and trying to control it.
If Eddie’s was red, I’d love to know how Vardy’s and the one on Leno wasnt. Especially when the latter two actually caused damage to a player.
It’s not the decisions it’s the inconsistency, and the disproportionate inconsistency at that.
For the Spurs game, let’s drop Laca to the bench, put Auba in the middle and Pepe on the wing. Cedric or Maitland-Niles to cover for him. Tierney is doing wonders on LB, finally we have a good, consistent full back.
Laca can come in at the end of the second half, to bully our opposition..
Laca made a huge step forward last match, he using his strength almost as an 8 to set Auba free. He’ll play even better if he has both wings to pass into and he’ll be complete when he punishes any lapses made under his watch.
If Vardy was an accident, why is Nketiah not? Both off, or neither off.
“We will go against Spurs full gas on Sunday“
Chickens quake and shits bird pants