After three consecutive Premier League victories, Arsenal slipped up again, dropping points and giving leaders Liverpool a clear path to build a significant lead. However, the penalty awarded by referee Anthony Taylor in favor of Brighton is highly debatable, with arguments likely to arise on both sides—whether the decision was too harsh or entirely justified.Arsenal are two steps away from the title raceArsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta, shared his thoughts at the post-match press conference. To say he was surprised would be an understatement.”I have never seen a refereeing decision like that in my career. I even asked my players after the match if they had seen anything similar, and they told me they hadn’t. When you look at the situation—the distance, the player—João Pedro touched the ball, and then Saliba also made contact with it. You can clearly see the contact with the ball” said the Spaniard.Arsenal’s cold-resistant warrior could return homeIndeed, if you take a closer look at the footage, it’s evident that the Frenchman touched the ball before his head made contact with the Brazilian’s, who fell rather theatrically to the ground. Arteta also explained why he substituted Ethan Nwaneri, the scorer of Arsenal’s only goal, at halftime. It turned out that the 17-year-old, filling in for the injured Bukayo Saka, suffered a muscle injury.”We lost him as well. It was a muscle problem, and I had to take him off,” Arteta confirmed. A draw and an injury—a double disappointment for Arsenal. Add to that the frustration caused by the controversial refereeing decision, which the Gunners must quickly put behind them. However, the dropped points were not solely down to that decision.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 20Saturday Tottenham – Newcastle 1-2 (1-2)/Solanke 4 – Gordon 6, Isak 38/Aston Villa – Leicester 2-1 (0-0)/Barkley 58, Bailey 76 – Mavididi 63/Bournemouth – Everton 1-0 (0-0)/Brooks 77/Crystal Palace – Chelsea 1-1 (0-1)/Mateta 82 – Cole 14/Man.City – West Ham 4-1 (2-0)/Coufal (og) 10, Haaland 42, 55, Foden 58 – Fullkrug 71/Southampton – Brentford 0-5 (0-1)/Chade 6, Mbuemo 62, 69, Wissa 90+2, Lewis Potter 90+5/Brighton – Arsenal 1-1 (0-1)/Pedro (p) 61 – Nwaneri 16/Sunday 17.00: (1.57) Fulham (4.00) Ipswich (6.00)19.30: (1.33) Liverpool (5.50) Man.Utd. (8.50)Monday23.00: (3.20) Wolverhampton (3.30) Nott.Forest (2.30)***odds are subject to change***
