Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left frustrated on Tuesday night as his side played out a tense 0-0 draw with Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners saw two penalty claims waved away by referee Andy Madley, something that Arteta labeled as 'scandalous.' Speaking after the match, the Spaniard said: "I’m really proud, of the way we played, the way we dominated the game.
"We lacked that spark in the final third to find the opening to find the right moment and extra pass and a little bit the finishing quality. We had a lot of situations around the box to do better and then yeah, there were two scandalous penalties."
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Arteta also was quizzed on his team's squad depth, with the young coach deciding to make just one substitute during the match - bringing on right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu for Ben White in the second half. "I don’t know", he replied when asked if it would have helped to have a new signing at his disposal on Tuesday.
"That’s something more for Edu and the board to respond. We are really trying to improve the squad in every window.
"We’re trying to do our best because we cannot waste any windows still with the squad and the numbers that we have. We will try."
Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for talented Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk over the last few months and football.london understands that the north Londoners saw an offer in the region of £55million including add-ons - rejected by the Ukrainian outfit. Fresh reports claim the Gunners made an improved offer for Mudryk.
The second bid is said to still be short of Shakhtar's asking price, as per Goal, although the new terms are being considered. Arsenal will hope that they can get a deal over the line as soon as possible, with their next two fixtures coming against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
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