Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta slammed referee Anthony Taylor’s decision to award Brighton a penalty during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against the Seagulls.
Ethan Nwaneri fired the visitors in front during a tricky competition on the south coastbut Arsenal struggled to control the game after that. Brighton launched multiple attacks up the pitch that failed due to a combination of poor decision-making and lapses in concentration.
Joao Pedro eventually forced a deserved equalizer for the hosts on the hour mark. The Brazilian striker took an unusual approach and lifted the ball at the top Arsenalovercrowded penalty area, leading William Saliba to mistime an aerial attack which Taylor punished.
“I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career,” Arteta moaned afterwards frustrating standstill. “I asked the guys if they had and no one had seen it before.”
Slow-motion replays of the freak foul appeared to show Saliba gently forehead the ball before touching Pedro’s temple.
“When you look at the incident, the distance, the player, Joao touching the ball, then Salib touching the ball, you can see the contact.” Arteta claimed. “I checked [with the officials]. After three seconds they said they had already checked. It seems fast.”
Referee Taylor first took his time before pointing to the spot. VAR Darren England quickly confirmed the decision, with Premier League statement subsequently explaining that “there was enough contact for a penalty”.
Arteta was not impressed. “We are really disappointed with the decision,” concluded the manager. “[Saliba] also touch the ball.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fabian Hurzeler had a different opinion than Arteta. It was a clean penalty Brighton insisted the boss. “It’s one-on-one, but if it was another part of the body, everyone would say it was a penalty. Joao Pedro headed the ball in and Saliba was late, so it was clear.”
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