‘Never seen this in my life’ – was ‘bizarre’ penalty harsh on Arsenal?

As his side’s attempt to win the Premier League title at Brighton was halted, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta lamented a penalty decision that he described as “bizarre.”

Following Ethan Nwaneri’s early opener, the second-placed Gunners were on course to win a precious three points on the south coast.

Following a freak incident where he was headbutted by visiting defender William Saliba, they were forced to settle for a point and a 1-1 draw.

We are “absolutely depressed with the decision that leads to the goal,” Arteta told BBC Sport. “I have never seen something like this in my life.”

“He touches the ball as well. ]It is] bizarre. That implies that it has hardly ever been seen. I haven’t in my career. I asked the boys if they have, and no-one has seen this before. So it is a new one.

” I checked and, after three seconds, they said they already checked VAR. It seems quick. “

Spaniard Arteta was obviously upset that hosts were awarded the penalty by referee Anthony Taylor, but Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler thought it was the most likely outcome.

” It was a clear penalty. It is head to head, but if it is another piece of the body everybody would say it was a penalty, “said the German.

Just before the hour mark, Pedro headed the ball into the Arsenal penalty area, and Brighton was on the lookout for an equalizer.

As Saliba made an effort to clear, the Brazil forward nodded into his own path and attempted to turn to his right.

Pedro fell to the ground after being refrained by the referee, Taylor.

The official then pointed to the spot, and Pedro sent visiting goalkeeper David Raya to the wrong corner as he leveled the scores with a VAR check.

The pundits believed a penalty should not have been levied on Match of the Day.

” It was clearly headed by Saliba, “said presenter Gary Lineker”. Head-to-head collisions have never been punished.

Despite Arsenal’s objections, Brighton’s supporters argued that the decision merited punishment.

Jamie Redknapp, a former midfielder for Tottenham and England, suggested that the Gunners were to blame themselves only.

” When you think about Gabriel and Saliba you think about calmness, but there was chaos in Arsenal’s defending there, “said Redknapp on Sky Sports.

” The defending was chaotic. Is it a penalty? Absolutely. You can see the contact. You can’t afford to take him in the box and watch him go down.

“We have witnessed much worse penalties than that one,” she said. They were rash in their defending. Although some people claim it to be soft, he is hit in the head and falls. It’s a foul. Arteta is entitled to his opinion, but they didn’t play well. That is the fact”.

Ex-Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell added: “It was a genuine attempt to get the ball, but Pedro gets there first. I think it’s a penalty. A blatant sin for me.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Arsenal defender Matt Upson added: “A clash of heads. It’s an interesting one. How frequently is an accidental headbutt punished?

Meanwhile, fan reaction on social media overwhelmingly endorsed the award of the penalty.

Dom: Not sure what the complaint is? headbutted him and spit the ball. Similar to a foul if you miss a ball with your foot. It wasn’t a clash of heads, he missed the ball.

Mike: It’s a stonewall penalty. Yes the clash of heads may have been accidental, but if it’s a clash of legs that was accidental it’s still a penalty

Neil: Unusual penalty, but when a defender accidentally trips an attacker when trying to play the ball it’s a foul. Guess this isn’t that much different. The ref made a good call.

Nwaneri’s goal in the first half was his second in the league this season.

It made him the sixth player to score multiple Premier League goals before turning 18 after Wayne Rooney (seven), Michael Owen (five), Danny Cadamarteri (three), James Milner (three) and Federico Macheda (two).

He was taken over a corner just before half-time, and Gabriel Martinelli injured him before taking his place at the break.

“Really bad news because I think we’ve lost him”, said Arteta afterwards.

“We had to take him off at half-time with some muscular issues”.

The England Under-19 international has been deputising for injury-hit Bukayo Saka on the right wing.

What a good Bukayo Saka replacement is Nwaneri. After the teenager blasted Arsenal into the lead, Upson said, “He fits the pace, body shape, and lovely left foot that he has got.”

If Liverpool beat Manchester United on Sunday, they will have an eight-point lead over Arsenal if they fail to collect the most points.

“It’s not the moment to think too much about the title”, said Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori. “We need to focus on ourselves”.

Redknapp added: “If Liverpool win tomorrow it opens it up for them. I’ve already said that there will be twists and turns, but Arsenal won’t have to if they continue to perform this way.

At this point, Arsenal still has the same scores as last year, but they are still not playing well. They are currently struggling to form a team because they lack Saka. The game is hard for them at this moment. “

Arteta regrets receiving only a point, saying, “In the second half, we didn’t really grab the game or dominate enough to have certain moments and be more of a threat in their half.

You can’t maintain the level of performance and competitiveness with the number of injuries and circumstances when you play every three days, or less. In the second half of the day, we lacked it.