The head coach of the Gunners supported his opponent's goal at the 96th Khvylini.
The week-long London derby ended with a minimal, but overly emotional victory for Arsenal with a 1:0 score. The head coach of the Gunners, Mikel Arteta, expressed his satisfaction not only with the result, but with the work of the refereeing team, as long as they decided not to protect West Gem’s late goal, which could save his team’s important points.
It seemed that Arsenal had already guaranteed themselves three points against Leandro Trossard's strike at the end of the match. The Londoners' hopes for a calm final were dashed when, in the 96th half, Callum Wilson sent the ball into their net..
The resolution came after a painful re-watch of the episode: head referee Chris Kavanagh, having seen all the angles on the VAR monitor, scored a goal through a foul against goalkeeper David Rai. Unfazed by the pressure of the gravers and the sick hammermen, Arteta categorically supported the referee, stressing that the video replay clearly recorded the violation of the rules.
“This was an even more courageous decision of the court, which at the same time largely confirms what the committee of arbitrators talked about during this season. If you bring bulls for criticism, I criticize. Ale today I may praise them. “The least for those that VAR gave the head referee the opportunity to evaluate the episode calmly, avoid chaos and chaos, and make the right decisions,” said the Spanish footballer.
For the Arsenal coach, this episode was the perfect example of how technology can rob football of its fairness..
" Tse foul, i goal mav buti taps. I am a referee, even though they praised the extremely important decisions in very complicated settings. Today I learned how important and reliable the work of the judge is. Let’s figure out how we can change history and re-christen two great clubs,” explained Arteta.
The leading hero in the attack of the gunners was Leandro Trossard. The Belgian broke his 26-match goalless streak at the most important moment, scoring a possible goal seven minutes before the end of the regular hour.
On the other side of the field, the right marvel was created by David Raya. The Spanish goalkeeper earned top marks in a series of world-class saves.
Even before the drama, Raya had turned the team around with a goal, having won against Matheus Fernandes for a 0:0 score..
Arteta praised his goalkeeper's contribution: " David, madly, like Martin Edegor, created a moment today that allowed us to win this match,” Mikel said.
However, the victory came at a high price for the Gunners: the team had to survive a chaotic second half through Vimushena Perebudova, caused by an unacceptable injury to Ben White.