Mikel Arteta was visibly frustrated after two penalty decisions went against his Arsenal side in their defeat to Inter Milan.
The match was marked by a pair of penalty incidents—one awarded and one denied.
Inter received a penalty just before halftime after Mikel Merino was penalised for handling the ball with his arm away from his body. Despite being very close to the ball after Mehdi Taremi’s flick, Merino was adjudged to have committed the offence.
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Hakan Calhanoglu converted the penalty, and that goal proved to be the match-winner at the San Siro, condemning Arsenal to their first Champions League defeat of the season.
Earlier in the game, Merino was involved in a controversial moment when he went for a header in the Inter box with goalkeeper Yann Sommer closing in on him.
Sommer made contact with Merino’s head, not the ball, but no penalty was awarded.
Arteta unhappy with referee’s penalty decisions
Arteta shared his frustration with TNT Sports saying,
“I’m proud of my players, the level of domination we had, I feel we were harshly done tonight.”
When asked to expand on his thoughts, he explained: “In the sense it was obvious.
” If you’re going to give a penalty in the other box, you have to give this one, as he punched him in the head.”
Regarding the decision against Merino, Arteta argued,
“There’s no deflection, no danger in the box, and there’s nothing more you can do when the ball is that close to your body. I don’t understand how you could avoid it. Especially if you’re giving that one, the other one (for Arsenal) has to be a penalty without question.”
The loss leaves Arsenal in 12th place in the revamped Champions League standings and marks their third defeat in six games across all competitions, including last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle in the league.
Currently sitting fifth in the Premier League standings, the Gunners will hope to reverse their fortunes as they prepare for this weekend’s tough EPL clash against Chelsea.
