“It was a big game for us, an away game against a really good team,” said Michael Arteta, following his students’ 1-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 24th week of the English Premier League, according to Tasnim. They make very few mistakes, concede very few goals and are very dangerous. I think we had really good times in this match, but the red card changed the game completely. We got into trouble after 10 players, but we showed a lot of resistance, we defended our penalty area well, and that’s why we managed to score three points in the end.
“Aren’t you worried about the number of red cards your players have received in various competitions this season?” Why is it so worrying? To be fair, this is the first time in the 18 years I have been in this league that I have seen such a red card. I think in those circumstances, as a referee, you would be completely willing to give a red card. Again, this happened. We know that playing with 10 people in this league, we can not get enough points and we must prevent this process (receiving a red card). To be fair, it is difficult to find more arguments and more ways to convey it to the players. Everyone says it’s the most disciplined team we’ve seen at Arsenal in the last 15 years, but we still get red cards for other things.
He also commented on whether the referees have targeted Arsenal with their decisions: “If you ask me if I am satisfied with the decisions that the referees have made in our games this season, I must say I am not at all satisfied. But this is a conversation I will have privately with the authorities. We need an explanation, an explanation of what happened in the VAR. We also need to explain what happened in this game.
