Both the Premier League and Mikel Arteta took an approach of transparency in the aftermath of the hotly contested penalty which Arsenal conceded to Sunderland on Saturday evening. Yet, rather than calm a tense situation, it only served to expose an ugly underbelly to the world.
The match officials were quite content to penalize Arsenal center back Ezri Konsa for a “holding offense” on his Sunderland counterpart Dan Ballard in the second half of what had been a goalless contest. Arteta, by contrast, would accuse Ballard of performing a “judo roll.”
