Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta questioned the way VAR handled a penalty situation in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City today, according to Sky Sports (via Goal).
The North London club put up a brave fight, but were not able to find the back of the net. This was in large part due to the impressive performance of City keeper Ederson, but the game still could have gone in a very different direction had VAR checked a particular incident.
While defending, the boot of Kyle Walker came close to centre back Gabriel. Arteta asked why this incident wasn’t examined more.
“That has to be checked. They said that they checked, and I said, ‘How the hell have you checked if you took two seconds to check that action?’. Obviously, there is something there.
“When you have three big chances in this game, you have to score. I think the three of them were really good chances and then the situation we have with Kyle Walker from the corner.”
Though losing a game against his mentor was difficult, the performance at the Etihad was still one to be very proud of. The players kept going until the final whistle and on another given day, things could have gone quite differently.
As a result, the Emirates club find themselves in fifth place in the league table. They are one point behind second place Liverpool which should be considered a good start to the season. Given that they have already faced two challenging teams at the Etihad and Anfield, and still sit in the top six, it promising for when it gets easier as the season goes on.
Arsenal will next be taking on Rapid Wien on Thursday in the Europa League. The competition will provide the club a shot at some silverware, so they will be looking to start off on the right note. It will be a chance for the Gunners to bounce back and resume their winning run.
There are positives to be gained, even from a defeat such as this one. Arteta will be hoping to see more of those positives in the next game, and hopefully, an opposite result.