Mikel Arteta criticises penalty decision after Arsenal win

Mikel Arteta has criticised the penalty awarded to Sunderland, saying decisions of that kind could affect the direction of Arsenal’s season and the title race. His comments came after Arsenal left the Stadium of Light with a 2-0 Premier League victory on Saturday.

The incident occurred while the match was still goalless. Referee awarded Sunderland a spot-kick after Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa was judged to have held Dan Ballard inside the area. Arteta said he watched the incident 10 times and remained convinced it should not have been a penalty, drawing on nearly three decades in football to support his view.

Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fée took the kick, but Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya saved it. Arsenal moved ahead only two minutes later through Bruno Guimarães, before Bukayo Saka converted a penalty in stoppage time to complete the win.

The decision came as referees follow new instructions to take a stricter approach to offences in penalty areas. The Premier League said the award was made because of Konsa’s hold on Ballard, while Arteta maintained that the call was unacceptable even though Arsenal ultimately avoided its consequences.