Mikel Arteta was disappointed with the penalty and had never seen such a decision in his coaching career

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his disappointment after losing the match against Brighton due to a refereeing decision. He believes that the goal won by Brighton striker Joao Pedro was the reason for the disappointment. The penalty should not have been awarded at all.

Arsenal took a 1-0 lead with an early goal from Ethan Nwaneri. However, in the 65th minute, William Saliba collided with Pedro's head while competing for a high ball. The latter immediately fell to the ground. Referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty kick. VAR confirmed that Saliba's action constituted "sufficient contact" and the penalty kick was established.

Pedro scored a penalty to help Brighton equalize the score. This result means that Arsenal is 5 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table with two more games to play.

After the game, when asked by Sky Sports about his opinion on the penalty, Arteta said bluntly: "I have never seen such a situation. Saliba touched the ball. In my opinion, this is definitely not a penalty. . "

In a subsequent press conference, he further added: "I am very disappointed with this penalty. I have never seen such a decision in my coaching career. I also asked the players if they had encountered similar situations, and they also They all said no. ”

"From the situation at the time, Pedro touched the ball, Saliba also touched the ball, there was indeed some contact. But in terms of distance, action and penalty, it is incomprehensible.

Asked if he thought VAR should have overturned the decision, Arteta replied: "I would have thought it would. But I checked and it took VAR just three seconds to give its verdict, which is too quick.

He also said that referee Taylor did not give a clear explanation, but told him that he would review the decision.