Arsenal has returned to the top of the Premier League table after a 1-0 victory over Newcastle. The home team played very hard, with fear overwhelming, but Eze's moment of brilliance helped them get 3 important points.
However, coach Arteta was extremely angry when Nick Pope only received a yellow card after fouling substitute player Viktor Gyökeres in the 79th minute. After reviewing VAR, referee Sam Barratt's decision on the field was still maintained.
I also have to say that, in my opinion, it was clearly a red card. I have reviewed that situation 10 times. If you have ever played football, it is definitely a red card. This is the second time in two consecutive matches that we have encountered a similar situation. In the match against Man City, when Kai Havertz rushed up and Khusanov fouled him. At that time, the score was 1-1. That was a red card in my opinion," Arteta said.
In the 1-2 loss to Man City, Khusanov collided with Kai Havertz when the German striker had a chance to run down to face goalkeeper Donnarumma. However, referee Anthony Taylor waved his hand to determine that the Uzbekistan defender did not foul.
When asked if he felt that important decisions were often disadvantageous to his team, Arteta said: "I am talking about the reality of the two recent matches at key moments when everything was threatened; we needed everything to happen as we wanted, but it didn't happen.
I don't defend myself at all. I understand best. I don't talk about this when we lose. I only talk when we win. Today is a red card. In Manchester it's the same, it's a red card and the world is different. Just that.
In the 1-0 victory over Newcastle, both Havertz and Eze had to leave the field due to injury. But according to Arteta, it is too early to determine if they will miss the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Atletico Madrid in the middle of next week. He said: "It's just minor muscle injuries. We don't think it's too serious. We have to wait and see if they can play in the next match.
Meanwhile, captain Martin Odegaard was happy that Arsenal overcame the pressure to win against Newcastle. He said: "The match was very difficult, tense, and fierce. Especially for me, having to play 90 minutes again was really difficult. But we did everything we could and won. This is the most important thing for Arsenal and we did well to overcome difficulties and win three points.
