Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has expressed dissatisfaction with the controversial decision against his side in their disappointing 1-1 draw against Everton on Saturday.
The Toffees were awarded a contentious penalty kick in the second half after referee Darren England, adjudged Arsenal’s leftback Myles Lewis-Skelly to have fouled Jack Harrison.
Iliman Ndiaye confidently dispatched the spot kick to equalize for the hosts minutes later, although the initial contact began from outside the penalty area.
Leandro Trossard neatly finished a pass from Raheem Sterling to put the Gunners in front in the first half, marking Sterling’s third assist in his last two appearances.
Speaking after the game which definitely ended Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League, Arteta disagreed with the decision, expressing his discontent with the final result.
He said: “In the second half, we thought, ‘Let’s start well and start to dominate the game.’ We did the opposite. We gave the ball straight to the ‘keeper. Again, direct play and the referee decides to give a penalty that changes the course of the game.
I’m here to give my opinion and after seeing it 15 times, there’s no way that’s a penalty, because if it is, [Jake] O’Brien has to be out and Everton have to play with 10 men, that’s clear.
After that, again, dominated the game but we could not get too much momentum. We had two big chances to win the game and we didn’t convert them, so we have to accept the point”, the Spaniard continued.
The Gunners brought in Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard who had both started on the bench in the second half, but could not find a way past Jordan Pickford in the hosts goal.
The England shot-stopper made brilliant saves from Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli, while the Everton defence remained resolute and prevented a second Arsenal goal.
“I think we deserved more but [a point] is what we got in the end at a really tough place to come. What they do, they do really well, constantly putting balls into the last line, dealing with direct play.
I don’t think we conceded anything in the game, which was really positive. We were 1-0 up and had some big opportunities running into spaces but didn’t finalise the actions”, Arteta added.
Arsenal host European champions Real Madrid in the UCL quarterfinals on Tuesday at the Emirates and could fall 14 points behind Liverpool, if the Reds defeat Fulham in their match on Sunday.
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