Mikel Arteta’s anger befell upon the fourth official after an extremely dubious penalty was given against Arsenal to Everton. The other Premier League encounter finished 1-1 at Bramley-Moore Dock. The controversial incident that Arteta reviewed 15 times was a foul by Myles Lewis-Skelly on Jack Harrison. Regardless of that decision, Arsenal had gone up 1-0 in the first half with a strike from Leandro Trossard.
The tie has huge implications for the Premier League title race. If Liverpool were to beat Fulham on Sunday, they’d increase their lead to a whopping 14 points! Arteta strongly believes the penalty decision was unjustified, stating, “I’ve seen it 15 times. There’s no way, in my opinion, that’s a penalty.”
After dominating large swathes of the first half, it was Trossard who found the back of the net in the 34th minute. From that point, all momentum changed once the penalty was given against them. Iliman Ndiaye made no mistake with the spot-kick, slotting past Ramsdale to bring Everton back on level terms shortly after the break.
Arteta condemned the decision as ‘too soft’, arguing that the contact made was not sufficient for a penalty to be awarded. “There’s no question that apart from that they had nothing but, obviously, that changes completely the momentum and the result,” he remarked. He pointed out that the contact originated well outside the penalty area. He maintained that their foul play should not have impacted the final outcome of the match.
Even former players Michael Dawson and Mike Dean chimed in on the incident calling it “soft.” Dean saw a lot of extraneous contact happening outside and inside the box. Truth be told, he felt like it was egregious but not egregious enough to call a penalty. Dawson echoed these sentiments, stating, “I think this is awfully soft. I can see why it was given in real-time. Watching it again, there’s hardly a touch.”
Due to injury and tactical changes, Arsenal’s lineup featured five changes from their last match. Arteta said what happened in the last few days made it necessary to rotate his squad. “There were four players that couldn’t start the game after what happened with Fulham and obviously the injury of Gabi forces you to make some changes as well because players deserve to play minutes,” he detailed.
David Moyes, Everton’s manager, acknowledged the contentious nature of the penalty decision but expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance, particularly in the second half. “I don’t know why Lewis-Skelly doesn’t go to attack it… Harrison gets the wrong side of him,” Dawson commented on the play leading to the foul.
Moyes remarked on the penalty’s impact: “Whether it was good fortune or whatever, we got a penalty early on which settled us down a bit more. I was much happier with how we performed in the second half.” His squad more than fought back from their slow start, making sure they walked away with at least one key point garnered against an intimidating opponent.
The game at Bramley-Moore Dock will be a landmark moment for Everton’s campaign. They’ll move into a sparkling new stadium next season! This draw keeps them in contention but highlights ongoing challenges as they navigate a competitive Premier League landscape.
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