Mikel Arteta's fury was justified. Days after the Arsenal manager branded the penalty awarded against his side at Sunderland "unacceptable", the Premier League's independent review panel has vindicated him.
The five-member Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel unanimously found that referee John Brooks got it wrong when he pointed to the spot during Arsenal's 2-0 win. Brooks ruled that defender Ezri Konsa had fouled Dan Ballard inside the box following a corner.
Arteta had erupted after the match despite Arsenal escaping unpunished, David Raya producing a fine save to keep out Enzo Le Fée's 55th-minute penalty.
In its official report released this week, the panel said: "The panel unanimously agreed that the referee's decision to award a penalty for a hold was incorrect."
Breaking down the controversial incident, the report continued: "Although the challenge was very forceful, with Konsa initially wrapping his arms around Ballard, Ballard held Konsa and pulled him towards himself, so they both fell to the ground together."
VAR controversy continues
Yet for all its agreement on the main error, the panel backed the video assistant referee's decision not to intervene or recommend a pitchside review.
The report stated: "The decision not to resort to the video assistant referee was upheld by a result of 3-2, with the majority believing that the on-field referee's decision was not a clear and obvious error, given the overlapping actions of the players."
A fully independent body, the KMI panel comprises three former players or managers, one representative from the Premier League and one from the "Pro Ref" organisation responsible for refereeing in England. Its rulings are considered the technical benchmark for assessing refereeing decisions.
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The timing is awkward for the title holders. Arsenal sit second after a surprise 3-0 defeat to Brighton last Saturday, the result that closed out the league programme before the international break. Mikel Arteta's men host Leeds United on 10 October.