"121 seconds that nearly turned everything upside down": Arteta vents his anger after Arsenal's win
A single moment that fired up the Gunners
On a night when Arsenal looked close to extending their historic winning run, Mikel Arteta was left furious despite his side coming away with all three points. The 2-0 win over Sunderland did nothing to calm the Gunners boss, who felt his team had come close to paying the price for a refereeing decision that could have changed the entire complexion of the match.
Arsenal held firm through roughly an hour of strong, thrilling physical football. Then came 121 seconds that almost changed the shape of the contest. A penalty for Sunderland, a stunning save from David Raya, and, almost immediately afterwards, a killer goal from substitute Bruno Guimaraes turned the match from the possibility of a slip-up into another win for the Gunners.
Arteta, though, did not see the episode as merely another victory. He saw a serious warning about what he described as protecting the game, especially when it came to challenges inside the penalty area at corners.
121 seconds that turned the match
Referee John Brooks awarded the penalty after Ezri Konsa fouled Dan Ballard during a corner. Play stopped for a few moments before Brooks pointed to the spot, both Ballard and Konsa having fallen to the ground inside the box.
Enzo Le Fee stepped up with a golden chance to open the scoring and pile enormous pressure on Arsenal. David Raya had other ideas. The Spanish goalkeeper diverted the ball onto the post, denying the hosts the lead in one of the most thrilling moments of the match.
Arsenal needed only around two minutes to punish Sunderland for wasting the chance. Just 121 seconds after that decisive moment, substitute Bruno Guimaraes unleashed a powerful strike that pierced the Sunderland defence, crashed off the underside of the bar and nestled in the net, handing Arsenal the lead at a perfect time.
From there the Gunners held on to their lead, then sealed the match with a second goal. They left north-east England with three new points and a superb winning run intact. It was their ninth consecutive Premier League victory, a feat the club had not managed since the days of the Invincibles in 2003-2004.
That figure alone should have made Arteta's night a celebration, yet the Spanish manager chose to highlight another aspect of the match. For Arteta, it was not only about the penalty Sunderland were awarded, but about what he sees as a bigger problem that must be dealt with firmly to protect the game.
Arteta opens fire on the decision
Arteta did not hide his anger after the match. He tore into the penalty, insisting that what happened inside the box did not warrant a foul against Konsa.
Speaking to "Match of the Day" via the BBC network, Arteta said: "It was a movement like judo throws from the opponent. Ezri [Konsa] did nothing, you only have to watch the footage."
He added: "We have a lot of cameras and VAR technology, and we have to take responsibility in order to protect the game. Today, the game was not protected, and that could have cost us the match and the momentum we have, which is extremely dangerous."
Konsa's challenge, Arteta felt, was not the real cause of Ballard falling. He pointed out that the Sunderland player appeared to be holding the Arsenal defender during the challenge.
The footage, though, showed a foul by Konsa, which prompted the referee to award the penalty. VAR upheld the decision after review.
Arteta: I watched the footage 20 times
Criticising the decision was not the end of it. Arteta confirmed he had gone back to watch the footage repeatedly and still could not understand why the referee gave the penalty. He said: "This should never happen, it is not fair, and I am sad, very sad, in that regard."
He added: "I am making the matter clear publicly and openly because the issue concerns the game as a whole, not just Arsenal. This cannot happen at this level. It is unacceptable. I have watched the footage 20 times and I cannot understand why the penalty was awarded."
Those comments reveal just how displeased the Spanish manager was, especially as the decision came when Arsenal were looking to break Sunderland's resistance. It could have handed the hosts a huge psychological advantage.
His anger arrives at a time when the Premier League and its referees are trying to deal more strictly with grappling and heavy physical challenges inside the box at corners.
Challenges like these sparked wide controversy last season, after set-pieces turned into an arena for repeated physical battles between defenders and attackers.
Referees received clear instructions this season to confront these situations firmly, in an attempt to curb the wrestling inside penalty areas.
Arsenal's win at Sunderland reopened the debate all over again. A penalty followed a challenge between Konsa and Ballard, an incident Arteta felt did not deserve punishment of this magnitude.
