Mikel Arteta says Arsenal have already complained to the Premier League after VAR allowed Ivan Toney’s Brentford equaliser to stand despite Ethan Pinnock looking offside.
Arsenal were denied victory at the Emirates by a dogged Brentford, who switched to a back three and frustrated the hosts.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the Gunners four minutes after coming on, before Toney righted the wrongs of earlier missed chances to steal in and level.
But Toney’s goal, which came from a free-kick, was only given once VAR had checked whether defender Pinnock had strayed offside from the delivery. Arteta confirmed that he felt the VAR had made the wrong decision.
He said: “I’ve just looked at it back and it is offside, yeah. We will probably get an explanation later on in the week but today we haven’t got that. It’s too late — it’s fine, it’s a goal. It’s irrelevant.”
Asked whether the club have communicated their thoughts on the supposed offside to the Premier League, Arteta replied: “Yes, we did at the end of the game with them, and we said our views.
“I think it as a really strong performance,” he reflected. “I think it’s a really tricky team to play against. It is frustrating [not to win] but this is the Premier League. I’m delighted with how the boys tried, how much they want it. The reaction when they drop two points, they’re in a great place.”
The Spaniard was frustrated that his team had allowed Brentford to cash in on their set piece dominance and level through a free-kick.
He said: “Of course we want to improve in areas and we are the third best team in terms of defensive set piece records. We want to be the best. It’s what they do. We controlled them because we were hoping they were going to be offside but they weren’t.
Belgium international Trossard scored his first Arsenal goal since signing from Brighton last month for £21m. Arteta was left impressed by the wide player’s impact from the bench.
“We replaced [Gabriel] Martinelli with Leo today because Leo in those spaces is so good. He’s constantly moving and faking [to shoot]. I think it was the right choice.”
The fixtures don’t get any easier for Arsenal after this draw with Brentford. They host Manchester City here on Wednesday night and could strengthen their position at the top of the league if they win.
