Mikel Arteta said he was “disappointed” with the decision to award Brighton a second-half penalty as Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium on Saturday night.
Arteta’s side looked to close the gap on runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, who play Manchester United on Sunday, but failed to take all three points on the south coast despite taking a first-half lead through teenager Ethan Nwaneri.
The Gunners were level after the break as the hosts made a spirited comeback. Fabian Hurzeler’s side were rewarded for their efforts when they were awarded a penalty after William Saliba tried to head the ball but instead caught the head of striker Joao Pedro.
The Brazilian took the spot-kick and after that Brighton squandered a couple of half-chances to win the game late on.
Brighton points division.
An opportunity to quickly turn the page on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/OvxH20cvqa
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 4, 2025
But the Gunners boss felt referee Anthony Taylor’s decision to award the penalty was harsh.
“We are disappointed because we wanted to win,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“We started the game with some good actions and scored a very good goal. We knew it would be a very competitive and challenging match.
“But we competed. It wasn’t our best day, especially with the ball in the second half. We have so many simple balls away from home, they didn’t really let us dominate the game.
“I can’t fault the effort, the intensity and how much we wanted it, but doing the simple things has to be right against a really good team. Today was not up to the standards required to win.
“And we’re very disappointed in the way he’s doing it [referee Anthony Taylor] awarded a penalty. I’ve never seen that in my life. For me, that’s a clear no.”
A win for Arsenal would put them within three points of Liverpool. As it is, the Gunners are currently five points behind Arne Slot’s team after having played two more games.
But Arteta chose not to dwell on questions about their title rivals and instead keep the focus on his own players.
“We wanted to win the game today, but we didn’t,” added Arteta.
“There are things we must improve for sure. We are also very disappointed [penalty] decision and after that we have to try to be better in the next game.”
Next up for the Gunners is a visit to in-form Newcastle in the first leg of the Carabao semi-final on Tuesday.
