Top 5 controversial decisions against Arsenal after Newcastle star Gordon’s goal

Arsenal are not giving up on their battle to champion the course for good officiating in the Premier League after their controversial defeat to Newcastle United.

The Gunners have been on the end of some controversial decisions since the introduction of video assistant referees, but the recent one led to a series of outrages.

Head coach Mikel Arteta went on a rant slamming the decision as a disgrace. The club released a statement to back their manager and have reportedly compiled a list of controversial decisions against them.

As contributed to by Planet Football, Sports Brief looks at five questionable refereeing decisions against Arteta's team.

1. Anthony Gordon's goal

The goal had three VAR checks, which took 4 minutes and 20 seconds - 1. Has the ball gone out of play? 2. Did Joelinton foul Gabriel Magalhaes? 3. Was Gordon offside in the buildup?

???? - Possible Ball out of Play.
???? - Possible Foul.
???? - Possible Offside

VAR are checking THREE MOMENTS! pic.twitter.com/rokKZ6oA6R

— ???????????? ???????????????? ???? (@TheEuropeanLad) November 4, 2023

The most contentious decision was if the Brazilian attacker pushed his compatriot before his header, which the Irish forward scored from the rebound.

2. Mateo Kovacic escapes red

The Gunners beat Manchester City for the first time since 2015 last month. Per Optus Sport, Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic stamped Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice within six minutes but escaped a red card and only got a book for the first.

3. Ivan Toney's goal

One of the games that derailed Arsenal's title challenge last season was the 1-1 draw against Brentford. English striker Ivan Toney's goal was allowed to stand despite Christian Norgaad, who assisted the goal, being offside. PGMOL acknowledged human error, but Arteta said he would only be satisfied if he got his two points back.