The fallout from Arsenal’s defeat at Newcastle on Saturday looks set to continue as the north London club have drawn up a list of grievances to present to the Premier League
Arsenal have compiled a list of decisions they believe have gone against them and will present them to the Premier League in their next meeting.
Mikel Arteta spoke out strongly against the officiating decisions in the Premier League
It comes following fury at the north London club for the manner of their controversial one-goal defeat at Newcastle on Saturday. Mikel Arteta ’s side fell to a narrow loss in which Bruno Guimaraes avoided a first half red card while Newcastle’s winner was cleared despite three checks: for the ball going out of play, for a possible foul and an offside call.
Arteta wasn’t about to take the result lying down however, branding the awarding of the goal as “embarrassing”, “unacceptable”, “a disgrace” and “sickening”. Arsenal then backed up their manager with the release of an official statement demanding that the PGMOL “urgently address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies.”.
Arsenal’s clash at Newcastle drew up plenty of talking points over decisions
The Gunners added: “The Premier League is the best league in the world with the best players, coaches and supporters, all of whom deserve better.” That statement is now set to be followed up with a list that will be presented to the Premier League, in which they believe they have been hard done by with decisions.
The club’s stance has created friction between the club and PGMOL, the refereeing body for the division. There is a feeling in the latter that Arsenal’s criticism was unjustified and excessive, while creating an unhelpful focus.
A report in the Mail has now outlined the details of Arsenal’s list that they have drawn-up to hand to the division. Their grievances date back to Gabriel Martinelli’s goal against Manchester United in September 2022, 14 months ago, being disallowed after Martin Odegaard was adjudged to have felled Christian Eriksen.
They also cite the VAR official Lee Mason not drawing the offside lines prior to Ivan Toney’s equaliser for Brentford in a Premier League clash in February 2023. That secured a draw for the Bees as Arsenal dropped two points in their push for the Premier League title.
Arsenal have also included a more recent game; when Manchester City ’s Mateo Kovacic escaped a red card for his challenge on Martin Odegaard and then his subsequent tackle on Declan Rice, which again escaped further punishment.
