Mikel Arteta has once again not held back with his Arsenal referee verdict after Darren England gave Everton a controversial penalty(Image: (Martin Rickett/PA Wire))

Mikel Arteta has already shared Darren England Arsenal feelings amid Everton penalty controversy

by · football.london

Mikel Arteta previously revealed his anger at Darren England after the Premier League referee opting to award Everton a controversial penalty in their clash against Arsenal at Goodison Park

Leandro Trossard put the Gunners in front on 34 minutes but the hosts equalised from 12 yards just after half time when Iliman Ndiaye converted a spot-kick after a foul on Jack Harrison by Myles Lewis-Skelly.

VAR checked England's initial decision and deemed no clear and obvious error was made. A Premier League statement then read: "#EVEARS – 46’ The referee’s call of penalty for the challenge by Lewis-Skelly on Harrison was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed to be sufficient for a penalty and inside the area."

Replays showed that both players were jostling for possession and the contact really was minimal. With that in mind, it was no surprise to see that Arteta was not exactly pleased by the decision. "The referee decides to give a penalty," he admitted. "I've seen it 15 times and I cannot see..."

Arsenal have been on the receiving end of some hugely controversial decisions this season with another of those involving Lewis-Skelly and England. In the January victory over Wolves, the teenager was sent off for a late challenge on Matt Doherty that was deemed late and reckless.

England was in charge of VAR for that game and was in agreement with Michael Oliver that a red card was the correct decision. Unsurprisingly, though Arsenal went on to win the game, Arteta was not pleased by the decision made.

"It is that clear and I will leave it to you guys," he told Sky Sports. "I am absolutely fuming. But I will leave it with you, it is that obvious that I don't think my words are going to help."

Asked if Arsenal will appeal the sending off, Arteta replied: "That's for the club to decide what is the best decision. It's that obvious that maybe we don't even need to [put in an appeal]." Arsenal did indeed appeal and it was overturned with Lewis-Skelly able to play in the next game.

While the Gunners were not overly impacted in that game, the penalty call cost them two points here and though the title may be gone, Arteta would have liked a victory before the Champions League clash against Real Madrid.


Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.