It’s becoming a familiar scenario: a decision goes against Arsenal and Mikel Arteta cuts a furious figure in his post-match media engagements.
The Spaniard’s brow is furrowed and he looks at his inquisitor with an anger that seems to seep through every pore.
It was the same script at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night after Arsenal’s audacity 2-0 win against Sunderland. Arteta’s side were very impressive, looking at blood and the hosts’ approach to the throne and a partisan crowd came away with a victory that once again reinforced the belief that it will take something special for the reigning champions to be dethroned.
They were far from their best, partly due to a grueling week that included wins at Chelsea’s home and in Naples and partly because of a performance from Sunderland that would have overwhelmed most teams in the Premier League.
But they found a way and boarded the flight south having maintained their 100% record.
Arteta He should have been thrilled but, instead of praising his players, he chose to use his media duties to discuss the penalty awarded to the hosts after referee John Brooks and VAR Stuart Attwell deemed Ezri Konsa to have fouled Dan Ballard inside the box.
According to Arteta, the foul should have been given the other way around, accusing former Gunner Ballard of having done a “judo” on the England international. Enzo Le Fee saw David Raya brilliantly save his spot-kick before Bruno Guimaraes and Bukayo Saka managed to sink the Wearsiders.
“Today the game was unprotected and it could have cost us the game and the momentum, which is a very serious thing,” he said.
“It is not a penalty in any case, in any game, in any context, in any league” 😳
Mikel Arteta reflects on Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Sunderland 👀@jules_breach | 📺 Stream with TNT Sports on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/2BUZILExk3
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 12, 2026
Arteta’s Arsenal don’t usually see decisions go against them
Cry me a river, Mikel.
Is Arteta concerned about protecting the game? Of course not.
He was concerned when he found that Arsenal had been, along with Chelsea, the biggest beneficiaries of refereeing and VAR errors last season, according to the Premier League’s Key Match Incident (KMI) panel? Of course not.
Were you concerned when his side became the first in Premier League history not to receive a red card or concede a penalty in a single season last season? Of course not.
You could argue that inconsistencies in refereeing are matched by inconsistencies in Arteta’s care for the game.
This was a pre-planned attack by the Arsenal boss, no doubt mindful that at some point a key decision would go against his side, especially given the crackdown on fighting inside the penalty area, a transgression made into an art form by the north London side in their title-winning season.
Is it only Arteta who could benefit from a lesson in humility and integrity? Absolutely not. Too often managers use their interactions with the media as an opportunity to manipulate the narrative, to apply pressure and to alter perceptions.
If it wasn’t so transparent, it would be great. And yet, turn on any TV channel or radio station in the last two days and your ears would have been treated to a boss talking about the merits of Arteta’s argument.
Does this mean that Arteta was wrong in his judgment about the penalty? No, on reflection, he had a valid point. But where does it end? It simply cannot be that every decision is correct, even with VAR as an alternative. The VAR is still a human being and most decisions require an element of subjectivity.
It cannot be that every perceived human error, whether false or genuine, is met with outrage.
Arteta has a duty to protect the game, not just Arsenal
Arteta talks about protecting the game. As someone in his elevated position, he is more than capable of doing exactly that and Saturday was the perfect opportunity.
His team played well and won. Why not come out, admit that he felt the penalty was a mistake, but then throw his support behind the referees, the VAR, and offer an assessment of the difficulties of a job that will never, ever produce results that satisfy everyone?
Idealistic? maybe
But, had he done so, Arteta would have improved a reputation that is often tarnished by his antics on the touchline and perhaps even swayed popular opinion in his and his team’s favour.
As it is, it didn’t and it was another bruising weekend for the Premier League and its referees.
Arteta did get one thing right; the game needs protection. Unfortunately, it’s from people like him.