Livid Mikel Arteta brands Newcastle’s winner a ‘DISGRACE’ as the Arsenal manager insists Anthony Gordon’s strike ‘is not a goal’ and label VAR’s decision to allow it to stand as ‘EMBARRASSING’

•  Anthony Gordon’s goal for Newcastle was full of controversy during the buildup
•  Mikel Arteta was raging during his post match press conference and interview
• Kai Havertz is a broken man at Arsenal: Listen to the debate on It’s All Kicking Off 

A furious Mikel Arteta has slammed VAR and labelled it a ‘disgrace’ and ’embarassing’ after Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle United. 

Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game, however a lengthy VAR check followed to determine a number of incidents. 

Initially it was to check whether former Arsenal man Joe Willock managed to keep the ball in play in the buildup. 

VAR then proceeded to check whether Joelinton fouled Gabriel at the back post when he rose to win a header. 

Arteta spoke at length about VAR in both his post match interview with Sky Sports and during the press conference.

A furious Mikel Arteta watches on as Arsenal lose their unbeaten streak in the Premier League

Anthony Gordon wheels away in celebration after he scored the only but controversial goal

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The Spanish manager furiously insisted: ‘We have to talk about how the hell this goal was allowed, it’s incredible. I feel embarrassed. It’s an absolute disgrace that this goal was allowed. For many reasons it’s not a goal. It’s so difficult to compete at this level. 

‘This is nowhere near the level to describe this as the best league in the world. I don’t care what they say, it’s too late.

‘The penalty on Eddie, there is a lot of things. The question is it’s not a goal, it’s simple. For a goal there are certainly things that are not allowed in football.

‘I have to stand here and explain, we lost three points. There’s too much at stake. It’s embarrassing. It’s not in their hands, I have to praise the players how they play here.

‘It’s incredible how they competed against this team, it makes me sick. I feel sick to be part of this.’

The flurry of VAR decisions took four minutes to decide, with the first taking a look at whether the ball went out of play as Willock attempted to rescue it.

It was then being checked whether Joelinton committed a foul on Gabriel as it appeared the Brazilian pushed his fellow countryman in the back.

After it was deemed that was not a foul, VAR tried to look at whether there was an offside as Gordon looked ahead of Joelinton. 

The first issue VAR checked was whether Joe Willock managed to keep the ball in play

Officials then tried to determine whether this was a push on Gabriel by Joelinton

However, it was confirmed that there was no conclusive angle that Joelinton made contact with the ball which means they didn’t know whether Gordon was offside.

All these decisions clearly infuriated the Arsenal manager, however he will have to be careful as he is at risk of a hefty fine from the FA for his words. 

Last season Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was suspended for two Premier League games and fined £75,000 after he was charged of improper conduct.

This was in regards to his comments about Paul Tierney, which were viewed as implied bias, questioning the integrity of the referee and bringing the game into disrepute.

It remains to be seen if Arteta willl face any backlash from the PGMOL or the FA after his passionate outburst. 

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