Mikel Arteta's Fury Over Penalty Decision Against Sunderland

Mikel Arteta raged over a “judo” challenge he insists should have earned his side a season‑shaping penalty – before turning to praise the resilience that dragged them through a brutal contest against Sunderland.

The Arsenal manager cut a furious figure as he dissected the key incident, saying he had watched it back repeatedly and still could not believe the decision.

“Yes. I’m so upset,” Arteta said. “It’s unacceptable at this level. Unacceptable. This can change the course of a season, the championship, and it’s not acceptable.

“I’ve seen it ten times to make sure because I watched it live and I said, it’s not possible at this level, there’s going to be a penalty because it’s a judo role. That’s what it is. It just cannot happen.”

Arteta was adamant there was no room for interpretation.

“Not in my view, in any view that has played football,” he said. “I’ve been in football for almost 27 years, 28 years, it’s not a penalty in any case, in any game, in any context, in any league.”

The anger over the decision sat alongside admiration for his players’ response. They refused to fold, kept pushing, and eventually found a way through.

“That is the unbelievable players that we have,” Arteta said. “And the spirit and the courage to go again, and again, again. I am so pleased in one sense and so worried in another.”

A match that tested Arsenal’s nerve also underlined the value of one of Arteta’s match‑winners, who once more delivered when the pressure was at its fiercest.

“Unbelievable. Again,” he said. “He’s a player that decides football matches when we need.”

Arteta was careful not to let the officiating storm drown out what Sunderland had produced. His tone shifted from fury to respect.

“Big credit to Sunderland as well, the way they play, the way they are coached,” he said. “What they do because they are a really good team. I don’t want to take any credit out of them because they really deserve a lot of credit for how hard they make it for you.

“Not only that, in periods they play, have courage, and have a great understanding of what they have to do throughout the game. It’s been extremely tough, really happy that we’ve done it.”

Arteta left with three points, a simmering sense of injustice, and a clear warning: decisions like this, he believes, don’t just shape nights. They shape titles.