Mikel Arteta has spoken out for the first time since Lee Mason made a VAR error during Arsenal's draw against Brentford at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners dropped points for the second game in a row after Ivan Toney's equaliser was allowed to stand despite Christian Norgaard being offside in the build-up to the goal.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the north Londoners with his first goal since arriving from Brighton in the January transfer window. Brentford's equaliser was shrouded in controversy after Mason forgot to draw the lines to check for an offside as he reviewed Toney's goal in the second half.
This was not the only poor officiating decision by VAR at the weekend with Chelsea and Brighton also suffering from incorrect decisions. John Brooks was at fault in the Seagulls' match against Crystal Palace and was set to take to the video assistant referee technology for the game between Arsenal and Manchester City - however, he has now been removed from the game in light of the weekend’s error.
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Arteta has now discussed the decision that cost his team ground in the Premier League title race against City with Pep Guardiola's side just three points behind the Gunners before their crucial meeting at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night. The Arsenal boss said: "We ended the game with a huge anger because that wasn’t a human error, that was a big not understanding your job and that’s not acceptable.
"That costs Arsenal two points. We appreciate the apology and the explanation at the same time.
"That’s it, we have to move on. That has made the players, staff and our fans stronger to pass this hurdle that they put on us."
PGMOL chief Howard Webb apologised to Arsenal for the error made by Mason on VAR duty. When Arteta was asked whether he was satisfied with the PGMOL apology, the Spaniard responded: "I will only be satisfied if they give me the two points back which is not going to be the case."
Despite being cost two points by poor officiating, Arteta is keen to move on and not use the error as an excuse in the title race. The Arsenal boss added: "That was the reaction straight away from everybody [to move on].
"We can’t do anything about it. Don’t use it as an excuse."
The Gunners will now look to bounce back from their previous two fixtures in which they have seen their advantage at the top of the table significantly drop. A win against City would see Arsenal move six points clear of Guardiola's side with a trip to the Etihad Stadium still to come later in the season.
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