Arsenal fans are still reeling from their narrow defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.
The Gunners lost 1-0 at St James’ Park thanks to Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner. Mikel Arteta was furious with the referee’s decision to award the goal as Newcastle’s Joelinton appeared to push Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes in the build-up.
The ball was also almost out of play before being passed by Joe Willock, with Gordon adjudged marginally offside. The result means Arsenal’s unbeaten Premier League record is over, leaving them three points behind leaders Manchester City.
Yet Arsenal must quickly come to terms with the defeat. They face Champions League rivals Sevilla in the Emirates and know a loss will seriously hamper their European hopes. With that in mind, here are the latest headlines from the red half of North London…
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The penalty for Mikel Arteta was determined after a VAR tirade with a unanimous verdict on Arsenal’s statement
Piers Morgan’s opinion
Arsenal fan Piers Morgan criticized Gordon’s winner during an appearance on talkSPORT. He said: “(There were) three different times where VAR should have said ‘this is not a goal’. Probably four if you count the handball that we later determined probably happened.
“The ball clearly went out of bounds, the foul was clearly a foul. Joelinton clearly put two hands on Gabriel’s back and knocked him over. It was clearly offside, you can clearly see a handball as well. Four different reasons. None of them are given.”
Morgan added: “Apparently VAR doesn’t have the technology to tell us if a ball has gone out of bounds or if there has been a blatant foul or if there has been clear offside or if there has been a clear handball. To which my answer would be: what is the point of VAR? It sucks the joy out of us and we can’t make four decisions about one incident.”
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Our verdict on Arteta’s rant
![Mikel Arteta launched an astonishing tirade after Arsenal's loss to Newcastle](https://www.footymercato.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/mikel-arteta-faces-backlash-for-referee-rant-as-piers-morgan-weighs-in-3.webp)
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After Saturday’s match, Arteta said VAR’s inability to disallow Gordon’s goal was “a shame”, “embarrassing”, “unacceptable” and “sickening”. His astonishing tirade was backed by his employers, who released a statement questioning “the standard of civil service”.
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have both criticized Arsenal for their statement. In light of the club’s actions, we asked Mirror Football’s writing team for their thoughts on the matter. Do you want your opinion? Let us know in the comments below!
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Ex-referee supports Arsenal
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes Gordon’s goal should have been disallowed after Joelinton’s “obvious pressure” on Gabriel. He described it as a “remarkable error” and added: “If referee Stuart Attwell had disallowed the goal or if VAR Andy Madley had recommended a review, there would have been few complaints.”
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Halsey also thinks mistakes “happen every week” and claims PGMOL’s “leadership, guidance and coaching” under current chief Howard Webb is “not up to the task.” PGMOL is the body responsible for refereeing in the Premier League.
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