Mikel Arteta hit out at Anthony Taylor for awarding the penalty that pegged back Arsenal at Brighton but admitted his side lacked enough “freshness” to hold on for victory. Ethan Nwaneri’s second Premier League goal had given the visitors the lead in the first half but the Arsenal manager was left raging when William Saliba was penalised by Taylor for catching João Pedro in the face as he attempted to head the ball away.
“I have never seen a decision like this in my career. I asked the boys if they have and nobody has seen it before,” said Arteta. “When you look at the incident, the distance, the player, João touching the ball, then Saliba touching the ball, you can see contact there. I checked [with the officials]. After three seconds they said they had already checked. It seems quick.”
The 1-1 draw leaves Arsenal five points behind Liverpool but having played two matches more than the leaders. There was more bad news for Arteta, with the 17-year-old Nwaneri forced off at half-time with injury and Martin Ødegaard, the captain, able to come on only as a second-half substitute because of illness, while Kai Havertz was again not involved.
Arsenal host Newcastle in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday before Manchester United visit in the FA Cup next Sunday. Arteta admitted they have so far struggled to cope with the hectic schedule of nine matches in January and acknowledged that his players ran out of steam in the second half against Brighton.
“The run that we are on especially with all the situations, injuries and players that we are missing – I think the team deserves a lot of credit,” he said. “It’s disappointing because it’s not about how much effort we put in today but it was more about the freshness and the quality that we have to deliver in the second half to dominate the game much better.”
Asked whether his plans for the transfer window had changed, he added: “We cannot make a decision based on one performance for one day with a lot of circumstances, not only the players that we lost but the fact that we had to take Ethan out. Hopefully on Tuesday we will be in a better position.”
