"I have never seen something like this in my life" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hits out at penalty decision against William Saliba in Brighton draw

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was baffled by Anthony Taylor’s decision to award Brighton & Hove Albion a penalty when the two sides squared off in a Premier League clash on Saturday, January 5. The Spaniard described the on-field decision as something he had never seen in his lifetime.

Arsenal’s title ambitions suffered a massive hit as Brighton held them to a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium. Ethan Nwaneri had put the Gunners in front in the 16th minute, but Joao Pedro scored a 61st-minute penalty to rescue a point for the Seagulls.

Brighton were awarded the penalty after Saliba tried to nod the ball away in Arsenal’s box but clashed heads with Pedro. VAR reviewed the incident, and the hosts were awarded a penalty. But Arteta was bemused by the penalty call and told BBC after the match:

''We are really disappointed with the decision that leads to the goal because I have never seen something like this in my life. He touches the ball as well."

Arteta added that he was disappointed with the result, saying:

"First of all, I'm disappointed with the result especially when we started the game quite well and scored a beautiful goal. Then we lacked control, gave the ball away and we didn't do the simple things well enough to be really on top of the game and have the dominance we required. The game was always open without really conceding anything."

The Premier League also released a statement about why the penalty was awarded saying there was ''sufficient contact'' for a spot-kick.

Brighton boss disagrees with Mikel Arteta over penalty decision against Arsenal

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler disagreed with Mikel Arteta’s claim that the decision to award the Seagulls a penalty was wrong. The German boss insisted that ''it was a clear penalty'' and claimed William Saliba arrived late into the box and committed a foul.

He told BBC Match of the Day:

"It was a clear penalty. It is head-to-head, but if it is another piece of the body everybody would say it was a penalty. Joao Pedro places the ball with his head and Saliba comes too late, therefore it was a clear one."

Hurzeler further claimed his side deserved to win the match, saying:

"We think we deserved more. We had the better chances and weren't able to score the second goal. In the end, we have to take the positives."

Arsenal are five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.