Arsenal recorded just their second Premier League defeat of the season over the weekend, falling 1-0 to Everton at Goodison Park.
The north Londoners struggled to cope with the Toffees press, with the home crowd clearly buoyed on by the arrival of new manager Sean Dyche. Mikel Arteta's side struggled to create many chances before centre-back James Tarkowski eventually broke the deadlock on the hour mark, heading the ball past a helpless Aaron Ramsdale from a corner.
However, the Gunners were frustrated by some refereeing decisions on the day, as replays appeared to show that Everton shouldn't have been awarded the set piece considering the ball came off Alex Iwobi instead of Arsenal man Ben White. Referee David Coote also failed to award the away team a penalty when Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes appeared to be tripped by Everton frontman Neal Maupay.
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Gabriel was clearly incensed by the decision when Coote awarded the Merseyside-based club a free-kick instead before VAR reviewed the incident for a potential penalty check, eventually standing by the official's on-field decision. Explaining why the penalty wasn't given, former Premier League referee Peter Walton told BT Sport: "Well actually the initiation of contact was from the Arsenal player so I don’t think this will be given as a penalty kick, certainly there was enough contact there, but not a penalty kick."
Arsenal can certainly feel aggrieved by these decisions but they must bounce back quickly when they take on Brentford and title-rivals Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium over the next ten days. They currently sit five points clear of City in the Premier League standings after 20 games played apiece.
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