Arsenal were frustratingly held to a 1-1 draw at the Amex on Saturday as Brighton put a significant dent in the Gunners’ title chances.
Mikel Arteta, however, focused more on the penalty decision which allowed Brighton to draw level in the match rather than Arsenal’s own relative lack of attacking pressure throughout the 90 minutes.
William Saliba was late to an aerial challenge in the penalty area on 60 minutes, and managed only to head Joao Pedro in the noggin, seeing referee Anthony Taylor point after taking a beat to mentally deliberate.
The decision left Arteta “extremely disappointed” while indicating it was a first for the former midfielder.
“I’m extremely disappointed with the decision which leads to the goal because I’ve never seen something like this in my life,” Arteta said after the match.
When the interviewer followed up to ask more, Arteta said that Saliba “touches the ball as well,” but when pressed on if he believes the Frenchman go there first, Arteta conceded that he was indeed “second.” Still, he maintained his stance, repeating again that he was “disappointed.”
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In truth, it’s a ridiculous take from the Arsenal boss. Upon review of the play, Saliba is quite clearly late to the challenge, and only gets a touch on the ball because Pedro’s touch redirects the ball into the Arsenal defender’s head. Saliba’s head then barges straight into that of Pedro.
Beyond this, however, Arteta said it “wasn’t our best day” for the Gunners.
“We knew that it was going to be a really competitive and challenging game,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “We competed, but it wasn’t our best day, especially in the second half where we gave so many simple balls away, it didn’t really allow us to dominate the game.”
