Mikel Arteta fumes at 'not right' PGMOL explanation of penalty call in Arsenal's draw at Nottingham Forest as Sean Dyche argues to 'CANCEL football'

Arsenal missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points on Saturday after being held to a draw to a goalless by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli both wasted chances for the visitors, while there was a shout for a penalty after Aina appeared to handle. Referee Michael Oliver did not give the decision, while the incident was also checked and cleared by VAR Darren England. The Premier League Match Centre subsequently posted an explanation on X about why a penalty had been awarded: "The referee’s call of no penalty to Arsenal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that the ball was played off Aina’s shoulder first, while his arm was also in a natural position."

Arteta made his frustrations clear after the game and insisted it was a clear penalty for his side. He told TNT Sports: "The clear penalty that we cannot forget. That is a clear penalty in the box that's not been given. Those are the margins. I saw it live, I saw it here. I saw it now again. It's very unnecessary but he brings the ball in with his hand."

The Arsenal boss also disputed the explanation put forward by the PGMOL, adding: "They are right, it hits the shoulder. Then he takes the ball with his hand. The explanation is not right. The rest, the order [of what it hits] is ok, the timing and the intention of the player is very clear. If not, I wouldn't be sitting here saying in my opinion, it's a very clear penalty."

Arsenal still had chances to win the game, with Arteta admitted his team need to improve in attack: "Obviously we came here to win the game and we haven't managed to do that for different reasons. Credit to them, because they are really well organised and they are really good at breaking momentum when you have certain dominance in the game. But the reality is that we created four massive chances as well with Martinelli an open goal, Declan Rice a tap-in, Mikel and the header of Bukayo, and on top of that obviously a very clear penalty in the box that is not given. So, without conceding a single shot on target, again, the fact that we haven't won the game is disappointing. On top of that, I think we can do things better, especially in certain attacking areas."

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Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche had a completely different view of the incident. He told reporters: "If these start getting given, we might as well leave it. You never know but I think that's ridiculous. We have to be careful with these. You might as well cancel football if you give that one."

The Forest boss also felt his team should have had a penalty of their own after Callum Hudson-Odoi was fouled by Jurrien Timber. He added: "What about our one? It was right on the line of the box. They're staying it's outside but he's in full flight, going into the box. He's going to get there."

Arsenal now head to Italy for a Champions League tie with Inter before heading back home for a date with Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday. The Red Devils will head into the game fresh from a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Manchester City in caretaker manager Michael Carrick's first game in charge.