Mikel Arteta was outraged with the officials after Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle as he bemoaned two ‘scandalous’ penalty decisions.
The Gunners drew a blank against Eddie Howe’s side in a fiercely contested match at the Emirates which saw the north London side struggle to break down the Magpies.
Arsenal pushed for a winner but were denied a penalty in injury time when referee Andy Madley waved away claims for handball after Granit Xhaka’s cross struck Jacob Murphy’s arm – much to Arteta’s frustration.
Despite dishing out nine yellow cards during the match, the Spaniard was left outraged at the decision not to award a penalty and even suggested that Arsenal deserved two.
Gabriel appeared to be hauled down by Dan Burn who was seen pulling the Brazilian defender’s shirt, but VAR failed to intervene.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Arteta said: “[I am] Extremely proud of my players.
“The way we played the game, the way we controlled the game and we missed in the final third.
“We had so many situations to finish them better and then we had two scandalous penalties [that were not given].”
Arteta added: “It is not about which one was stronger, we had two penalties.
“I am not talking about the referee, I am talking about what I saw and that was two scandalous penalties.”
Discussing the Magpies approach, the Spaniard said: “Newcastle wanted to set-up like this.
“It is not the way they play. They have not set-up like this against anyone else.
“When you cannot win you cannot lose and we kept a clean sheet and had a really good performance. Now we go again.
“I wanted to win the game and we drew it.
“We should have done some things better in the final third and we should have had two penalties to win the game.”
