Arteta blasts ‘unacceptable’ Sunderland penalty despite Arsenal win
The decision ultimately mattered little as Enzo Le Fee's spot-kick was brilliantly saved by David Raya.
Mikel Arteta expressed his frustration over Sunderland's penalty decision, claiming it could have cost Arsenal the Premier League title, despite a 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light. The penalty was awarded after Ezri Konsa was penalized for grappling Dan Ballard, who was also pulling Konsa as they crashed to the ground inside the Arsenal box.
The decision was ultimately irrelevant as Enzo Le Fee's spot-kick was saved by David Raya. Two minutes later, Bruno Guimaraes scored Arsenal's second goal. Arteta, who had watched the match 20 times, stated, "We have to go through what was done today that in my opinion is not acceptable." He added, "I watched it 20 times and I cannot find a way to understand how they think to give a penalty in that situation or the way the VAR has not intervened."
The Brazilian forward, signed for £75 million, made an immediate impact, scoring the opening goal and assisting Saka's penalty. Arteta praised Guimaraes' performance, stating, "The personality that he has. He comes in and this is a special game for him as well, what it means for him, and how he grabs the game." The win extended Arsenal's streak of four straight Premier League wins, giving the defending champions a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
