Mark Clatterburg has suggested that the “goal didn’t feel right” as Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United in the Premier League clash at St James’ Park on Saturday (4 November).
Mikel Arteta was absolutely furious after the game and he branded the VAR decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s winner as an “absolute disgrace”.
It was Arsenal’s first defeat of the season and Arteta felt like their side suffered a grave miscarriage of justice.
There were three possible problems with the goal, but eventually, VAR decided that there was no proof that the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock crossed it. Secondly, VAR was happy with the fact that Joelinton had not committed a foul while challenging Gabriel, and Gordon was judged not to be offside.
Former Premier League referee, Clattenburg, wrote for the Daily Mail (6 November, the Verdict): “The whole goal didn’t feel right and if there was a moment to disallow it then it was this as Joelinton clearly pushed Gabriel.”
Support from the club
Arsenal have backed their manager and they have released a statement suggesting that the club wholly supports Arteta’s post-match comments after an “unacceptable” referring and VAR decision.
However, Arteta should focus on some of the other series issues that are plaguing the club at the moment. The Gunners lost 3-1 against West Ham in the Carabao Cup clash, and have now faced back-to-back defeats.
Now, the loss in the league cup can be seen as irrelevant but how they react to this defeat will give an indication about whether they are really serious about challenging for the title.
The Gunners enjoyed 60% of possession but only managed one shot on target. Clearly, bolstering the forward department should be a priority in the January window, and Brentford’s Ivan Toney could be seriously tracked.
