Absent from Emirates Stadium on the day of the game because he was recovering from a second bout of Covid-19, we’ve been waiting to hear what Mikel Arteta made of the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City last Sunday.
We were due to hear from him earlier in the week but with the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg postponed due to Liverpool’s own Covid issues, the boss has had to bide his time before wading in on the debate about the officiating.
The Gunners fully deserved their 1-0 lead following an incredible first half performance only for everything to fall apart in a mad five minutes after the break when VAR helped award the visitors a controversial penalty and defender Gabriel got himself sent off for two bookable offences in the space of two minutes.
City sealed their comeback victory deep into injury time; a result that was hard for Arteta, watching at home, to swallow.
“I was, as you can imagine, extremely upset at how we lost the game at the end but at the same time I was proud of the performance,” said the boss.
“The way the players played the game, the atmosphere that I managed to feel through the TV, which is nothing like being on the touchline but the support from our fans and the atmosphere that they created was incredible.
“For that I am extremely grateful, but at the same time, I’m extremely disappointed because we ended up losing the match and we have to improve.”
On watching the game at home, he added: “It’s a very strange feeling trying to communicate with players through the computer, it’s something that I’m not used to.
“It’s the best moment of the week when you are there on the touchline and things start to happen and you are part of that atmosphere, part of that energy and when you’re at home, a lot of that gets lost.
“But at the same time, I was quite calm, calmer than I expected to be, probably because I knew from there it was pretty difficult to get anything to them!”
Arsenal’s players, egged on by a partisan crowd, were incensed by some of the decisions made by referee Stuart Atwell and the implementation of VAR which didn’t check Arsenal’s penalty claim. The club has since been fined £20,000 for failing to control its players.
Unsurprisingly, Arteta picked up where his players left off.
“If I have to rate the decisions that were made in that game, I have to be extremely disappointed,” he said.
“It was completely inconsistent and it affected in a big way the result so I prefer not to talk much about it.”
……except to say Attwell and the Aussie VAR man should never be allowed near a Premier League ever again. £20k fine well worthwhile
Follow up fine incoming since Arteta mentioned it again?
Tell me he wasn’t the same Aussie they rushed in at the last minute with almost nil and completely boned us early on with VAR. Remember the Sokratis goal. That was an Aussie VAR man. Bloody Aussies…I say this as a bloody Aussie too…
Still nothing like a good ol’ English Ashes thrashing though is there fellas! At least somethings are normal in the world.
Same dude, I’d read
I thought the FA had sorted the “inexperience “ thing back in Stockwell Park, after the last debacle.
It’s still the same???
Please, tell me it ain’t so
“also, fuck those pricks”, he added.
Fuck it. Refs are going to screw us over regardless, might as well clap back.
Fuck Atwell, Riley, and VAR.
I can’t believe you willfully said “clap back” (facepalm!)
Isn’t that quite literally what Gabriel did and what we’re in trouble for?
Are you trying to win a contest with yourself for the most unpleasant message of the day?
Well, it looks like a double win. Congratulations.
🤦🏽♂️
There’s a lot of focus on VAR and how refs use it inconsistently and once in a while I read here on Arseblog match reports a line like arsenal player X made a needless/stupid foul and left the ref no choice. Much as it’s totally true what I find strange is how certain teams especially Man u and Spurs commit similar or worse fouls week in week out but their players leave refs with a choice. A “talking to” To me it’s the worst form of inconsistency and unfairness from the refs. Often we have players booked early in the… Read more »
Even in the Emery time, the points dropped by VAR removing the late goal at Palace were so crucial both on the day, in terms of momentum, and the final points.
Again, Xhaka was to blame, followed by Gabriel. THEY are why we lost. The refs didn’t help. But only losers cry about refs. We’re all better than this. Place the blame where it belongs…on our players for losing their heads!
Is that you, Stuart?
I someone punches you in the face, you punch them back, but you wouldn’t punch them back if they hadn’t punched you first.
So in your opinion the ref handled the match perfectly?
I like this a lot. Arteta usually isn’t one to have a moan about the referees after matches when he gets interviewed but here he is backing his assistant and players by singing from the same inconsistency hymn sheet. I wonder if he himself would have brought the refereeing issues if he jad been interviewed immediately after the game, either way, I’m glad je didn’t miss a step. One club, let’s get that seige mentality a bit.
Reckon he might have got himself sent off had he been on the touch line
Surely if the FA feel that the Arsenal players were poorly controlled that that is a reflection on the standard of competency of the referee. What sanctions are the FA going to take against Mr Atwell and his team?