Mikel Arteta faces backlash for referee rant as Piers Morgan weighs in
Arsenal fans are still reeling from their narrow defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.
The Gunners lost 1-0 at St James' Park courtesy of Anthony Gordon's controversial winner. Mikel Arteta was furious with the referee's decision to award the goal, as Newcastle's Joelinton appeared to push Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes in the build up.
The ball was also close to going out of play before it was crossed by Joe Willock, while Gordon was judged to be marginally onside. The result means Arsenal's unbeaten Premier League record is over, leaving them three points behind leaders Manchester City.
Yet Arsenal must get over their defeat quickly. They take on Champions League rivals Sevilla at the Emirates and know a loss will seriously hamper their European hopes. With that in mind, here are the latest headlines from the red half of north London...
Piers Morgan's view
Arsenal fan Piers Morgan slammed Gordon's winner during an appearance on talkSPORT. He said: "(There were) three different times VAR should have said 'this is not a goal'. Probably four if you include the handball that we later established probably happened.
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"The ball clearly went out, the foul was clearly a foul. Joelinton put two hands clearly on the back of Gabriel and knocked him over. Clearly it was offside, clearly you can see a handball as well. Four different reasons. None of them get given."
Morgan added: "Apparently VAR doesn't have the technology to tell us whether a ball has gone out or whether there's been a blatant foul or whether there's been a clear offside or whether there's a clear handball. To which my answer would be: What's the point of VAR? It sucks the joy out of us and can't make four decisions on one incident."
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Our verdict on Arteta's rant
Mikel Arteta launched an astonishing rant after Arsenal's loss to Newcastle (MI News/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)After Saturday's game, Arteta said VAR's failure to disallow Gordon's goal was "a disgrace", "embarrassing", "unacceptable" and "sickening". His astonishing rant was backed up by his employers, who released a statement questioning "the standard of officiating".
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have both criticised Arsenal for their statement. In light of the club's actions, we've asked Mirror Football's team of writers for their thoughts on the matter. Want your say? Let us know in the comments below!
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Ex-referee backs Arsenal
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes Gordon's goal should've been disallowed following Joelinton's "clear push" on Gabriel. He's described it as a "high-profile error" and added: "Had ref Stuart Attwell disallowed the goal or VAR Andy Madley recommended a review then there would have been few complaints."
Halsey also thinks mistakes are "happening every week" and claims PGMOL's "leadership, direction and coaching" is "not up to the task" under current chief Howard Webb. PGMOL is the body in charge of refereeing in the Premier League.
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