Mikel Arteta: “I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career” after controversial Brighton penalty

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw away to Brighton at the Amex Stadium, giving Liverpool a chance to go eight points clear if they beat Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

However, the game wasn’t without controversy, as João Pedro’s penalty seemed to confuse Mikel Arteta and his players, with contact between the Brazilian and William Saliba looking both minimal and accidental.

After the match, the Spanish coach spoke to the media to highlight the penalty decision and how his team needed more passion to regain their lead after being pegged back. He also talked about the illness around the camp, which meant Martin Ødegaard started on the bench and Kai Havertz didn’t travel with the squad.

What did Arteta say?

“I asked the boys if they had and nobody had seen it before. When you look at the incident, the distance, the player, João Pedro touching the ball and Saliba touching the ball, you can see contact there,” said Arteta as he explained his confusion with the penalty decision, adding “I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career.”

Despite the penalty decision, the Gunners put on far from their best display throughout the game and rarely looked like scoring, which hurt their chance of securing all three points.

“I think we started the game well and in the first half scored a great goal and didn’t concede anything. But in the second half, we dropped our standards and level with the ball, giving too many balls away.

“That never allowed us really to generate momentum and dominance in the game to control and go for the second goal. And without really conceding much apart from that transition moment with Minteh, [the penalty] becomes a decision that is very, very disappointing.”

Another issue for Arteta heading into the game was illness in the camp, that far from ideal considering the injuries that the North London side have already picked up this season.

“Kai [Havertz] tried but he really was very honest and said: ‘I can’t even train, I’m not feeling good at all’. We tried yesterday to see if he could train and he tried his best but he wasn’t able to do that.

“Martin [Ødegaard] didn’t train and said ‘I will see how I feel tomorrow’ and he did his best to be here because we know the numbers that we have.”

The Gunners will swiftly return to action on Tuesday evening with the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi final against in-form Newcastle United, where a positive result could put leave their Brighton woes firmly in the past.