Arteta said he felt the incident was obvious in real time and quickly judged, so he didn’t expect VAR to step in. He pointed out, however, that there had already been a penalty decision in the first half.
Despite the controversy, he expressed pride in his players for their performance, competitiveness, and composure under difficult circumstances, managing to push for a win.
He added that he saw the incident both live and on the replay and was convinced it was a penalty. According to him, referees had been told at the end of last season that VAR should only intervene in cases of clear and obvious mistakes, which he didn’t feel applied here.
He said that was the reason Arsenal were denied victory but praised his team for staying emotionally calm and learning from the situation.
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