Mikel Arteta expressed his belief that both Manchester City and Newcastle should have had a player sent off during Arsenal‘s recent two fixtures, suggesting that “the world would be different” if proper decisions had been made.
The Gunners secured a 1-0 victory over Newcastle at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, moving three points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to Eberechi Eze’s early ninth-minute goal.
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However, Arteta was notably upset after Nick Pope received only a yellow card for a foul on substitute Viktor Gyökeres with just 16 minutes left in the match. A brief VAR review confirmed the decision made by referee Sam Barratt.
This incident followed a previous match in which Arsenal lost 2-1 to City, where Kai Havertz was fouled by Abdukodir Khusanov while the score was still tied. Referee Anthony Taylor let play continue.
“In my opinion, it’s a clear red card,” Arteta stated regarding the challenge on Pope.
“I’ve reviewed it multiple times. If you’ve played football, that’s a red card. It’s the second instance in as many matches because against Manchester City, when Kai Havertz was fouled by Khusanov at a critical moment, it was also a red card,” he continued.
“These are the fine margins. I hope things improve. Everyone has their perspective; I’m here to express mine. I’ve been in the game long enough to know better. Talk to any player: given the trajectory of the ball, there’s no goalkeeper there. Had the roles been reversed, it would have been a red card.”
When asked if he felt his team was consistently on the wrong end of significant decisions, Arteta responded, “I’m just stating the facts from the last two games at vital moments when everything is on the line; we need every advantage possible, and we haven’t received it.”
“I’m not making excuses. I didn’t raise this issue after our loss; I’m addressing it following a win. Today’s was a red card, just like the one in Manchester, and it could have changed everything. That’s all there is to it.”
Both Havertz and Eze exited the game due to injuries, but Arteta noted that it’s too soon to assess their availability for the Champions League semifinal first leg against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday.
“They’re experiencing muscular niggles,” Arteta said. “We don’t believe it’s serious, but we’ll have to wait and see if they can play on Wednesday.”