Arteta Fuming Over Penalty Call Despite Arsenal's Two-Goal Win

A Controversial Call in the Box

Arsenal walked away with a 2-0 win against Sunderland, but manager Mikel Arteta was far from happy after the final whistle. The main talking point of the match was a controversial penalty awarded to Sunderland early in the second half.

The incident happened during a corner kick when defender Ezri Konsa was judged to have fouled Dan Ballard. Referee Stuart Atwell pointed to the spot, and the decision was checked and confirmed by VAR. This season, officials have been told to pay closer attention to holding and pushing in the box during corners. Atwell explained his decision by saying Konsa was all over his opponent at the near post while facing the wrong way.

Raya Saves the Day as Arsenal Strike

Sunderland could not take advantage of the opportunity. Enzo Le Fée saw his penalty saved by a brilliant effort from Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

Arsenal took full control of the match shortly after the save. Bruno Guimarães opened the scoring with a strike from outside the penalty area. Bukayo Saka then sealed the win for the Gunners in injury time by converting a penalty.

Even though his team took home three points, Arteta was still angry. He said the decision was unacceptable at this level and could have changed the match completely.

Arteta said he watched the replay 10 times to be sure. He argued that in his 27 years in football, it was not a penalty in any league. He described the moment as a judo roll and insisted that these kinds of decisions cannot happen because they can change the course of an entire season.

What it means for the next game

Ipswich Town vs Arsenal (Carabao Cup, Tue, 15 Sep): Ipswich Town win 14%, draw 21%, Arsenal win 65%; expected goals 0.88 to 2.13. Our safest pick: Arsenal draw no bet.

Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar (Europa League, Wed, 16 Sep): Sunderland win 46%, draw 27%, AZ Alkmaar win 27%; expected goals 1.53 to 1.10. Our safest pick: Over 1.5 goals.