Mikel Arteta aghast at Brighton penalty as Arsenal stumble in Premier League title race

LONDON – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he had never seen anything like Brighton & Hove Albion’s controversial penalty to earn a 1-1 draw on Jan 4 that dealt another seismic blow to the Gunners’ Premier League title challenge.

Shorn of many of their most potent attacking weapons, Arteta’s men led at half-time at the Amex Stadium thanks to 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri’s strike.

But two vital points slipped away when William Saliba was harshly punished for a clash of heads with Joao Pedro and the Brazilian slotted home the resulting spot kick.

Runaway leaders Liverpool held a five-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal before their Jan 5 clash against struggling Manchester United at Anfield – the result of which was unavailable at press time.

After that fixture, Liverpool would still have a game in hand.

“We are really disappointed with the decision that leads to the goal because I have never seen something like this in my life,” said Arteta. “He (Saliba) touches the ball as well.”

With talisman Bukayo Saka out for the next two months with a hamstring injury, Arsenal’s attacking options were further depleted by illness.

Kai Havertz failed to make the matchday squad for the second consecutive game, while captain Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli were only fit enough for appearances as second-half substitutes.

Midfielder Nwaneri was the beneficiary with a second consecutive start and showed why he is one of the Premier League’s rising stars with a clinical finish for the opening goal.

The teenager still had plenty to do as he raced onto Mikel Merino’s ball over the top but his pace took him beyond the Brighton defence before firing low into the far corner on 16 minutes.

But even he then had to be replaced by Martinelli at half-time after suffering a muscle injury.

“We gave the ball away and we didn’t do the simple things well enough to be really on top of the game and have the dominance we required,” added Arteta.

“We did a lot of things not to the standard with the ball. So we didn’t get any momentum, we never got set in areas that we could generate chances.”

Arsenal lacked any penetration without their quartet of attacking stars to build on their lead.

Merino had the one big opportunity to double the Gunners’ advantage early in the second period when he skewed wide from Declan Rice’s free kick.

Moments later, the visitors were rocked by a controversial call that could have huge ramifications for the title race.

There was the slightest touch from Saliba’s head onto Pedro’s but the Brighton forward went down clutching his face and earned a penalty.

The Seagulls captain for the day, in the absence of Lewis Dunk, confidently stroked home to level.

Arteta responded immediately by summoning Odegaard from the bench.

However, it was Brighton who looked the most likely winners in the closing stages.

Yankuba Minteh wasted a great chance to end their now eight-game winless run when his shot across goal evaded Yasin Ayari and Kaoru Mitoma and slid wide of the far post.

“It should be more than a point,” said Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, whose side edged into 10th.

“We came back but we were not clean enough in the final third. We had big chances. But it is a big challenge for us to play consistently with this intensity. We are only able to play like this in phases of the game. We have to improve and get fitter. We have to be mentally ready to play intensely for 90 minutes.”

On the penalty, he added: “It was a clear penalty.

“It is head to head but if it is another piece of the body, everybody would say it was a penalty. Joao Pedro places the ball with his head and Saliba comes too late, therefore it was a clear one.” AFP