Arsenal Manager Criticizes Refereeing Decisions Following Champions League Defeat

Following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League, manager Mikel Arteta spoke to TNT Sports, expressing his pride in his team’s performance while also voicing strong criticism regarding the officiating. Arteta stated: “I am very proud of my players and the level of domination we had. We were very harshly done by in the sense that is obvious. Both penalties.” He further elaborated on his view of the referee’s calls, asserting: “If you are going to give a penalty, the other one has to be because he punches him in the head.” Arteta continued, highlighting the perceived inconsistency: “There is no deflection, nothing you can do in the box, so can he get away from it. If he is going to give that, the other has to be 100% a penalty.” Despite the loss, the Arsenal boss remained confident in his squad’s abilities, adding: “We should have scored a couple at least but the way the team played, that was us at least. Every decision in the box makes a difference.” He concluded with an optimistic outlook for future matches: “The way we played tonight, the team can go to Chelsea and win.”