arsenal The coach Mikel Arteta has dismissed Liverpool’s complaints over a controversial penalty decision during Sunday’s 1-0 win at Anfield, insisting he has a “massive library” of similar incidents that have gone unpunished.
The Gunners secured their first league win at Anfield since 2012, moving three points clear at the top of the table. Premier League in the process
However, Liverpool were left furious after Jurrien Timber escaped punishment for pulling Alexander Isak’s shirt off inside the penalty area.
Reds manager Andoni Iraola criticized the decision after the game, suggesting he would encourage his players to go to ground in similar situations in the future.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Slavia Prague, Arteta was asked about the incident between Timber and Isak.
The Spaniard had initially claimed he had not seen a replay in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s game, but was unwilling to entertain suggestions that Arsenal had benefited from a lucky decision.
“I have a lot of clips about shirts, pulls, grabs,” Arteta said.
“I have a huge library that we can talk about. We’re talking about one in particular, I have a huge library that we can throw out there to remind everybody what each team is going through.”
The Arsenal boss has previously criticized refereeing consistency
It is not the first time that Arteta has spoken about keeping evidence of incidents that he believes highlight inconsistencies in the profession.
Last month, the Arsenal manager revealed he had been collecting footage of other Premier League managers leaving their technical areas without receiving yellow cards.
Arteta has already been booked against Sunderland and Leeds this season, meaning another booking would mean a touchline suspension.
“There are coaches who have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes (they) leave the touchline, no yellows,” he said at the time.
“I’m cutting all that out, so now I have a massive stockpile of images, so if someone comes to me I can say, ‘I’m not on the record yet.’
“Someone else has the record, so let’s see.
“Then it’s 36 yellow cards in 10 minutes for the coaches. I don’t know what we’ll do, let’s see.”
