Arteta furious at the penalty call given in Brighton’s favor saying that he has “never seen something like that”.
Arteta furious at Anthony Taylor for giving Arsenal the penalty that tied the score at Brighton. However, he acknowledged that his team didn’t have enough “freshness” to win. The visitors had taken the lead in the first half thanks to a second Premier League goal from Ethan Nwaneri, but Taylor’s penalty of William Saliba for catching João Pedro in the face as he tried to head the ball away left the Arsenal manager furious.
“I have never seen a decision like this in my career. I asked the boys if they have and nobody has seen it before,” said Arteta. “When you look at the incident, the distance, the player, João touching the ball, then Saliba touching the ball, you can see contact there. I checked [with the officials]. After three seconds they said they had already checked. It seems quick.”
Arsenal now has two more games than the leaders but is five points behind Liverpool after the 1-1 draw. More bad news for Arteta: captain Martin Ødegaard was only able to enter as a second-half substitute due to illness, while 17-year-old Nwaneri was pulled out at halftime due to injury. Kai Havertz was also not playing.
Before Manchester United visits in the FA Cup on Sunday, Arsenal hosts Newcastle in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Arteta recognised that his players lost steam against Brighton in the second half and that they have so far found it difficult to handle the demanding schedule of nine games in January.
“The run that we are on especially with all the situations, injuries and players that we are missing – I think the team deserves a lot of credit,” he said. “It’s disappointing because it’s not about how much effort we put in today but it was more about the freshness and the quality that we have to deliver in the second half to dominate the game much better.”