Arsenal – first to lose in 2022 with questions on refereeing

Arsenal was irked at “inconsistent use of the VAR” and questioned whether or not they or City should have got a penalty.

Oyam, Uganda – January 1, 2022: Arsenal kept Manchester City at bay in the first half and through part of the second half of the first game of 2022 in the Premier League.

The North London club went into the game without Manager Mikel Arteta who tested positive for Covid-19 days earlier. His assistant, Albert Stuivenberg took charge, giving instructions to players like it is common with Mikel.

The visitors were predicted to score many goals in the first half but Arsenal kept them off. It was Arsenal, It was Bukayo Saka.

Saka’s goal in the 31 minutes was the only one for the first half for an Arsenal side who has since transitioned into a formidable team in English football.

Manchester City got an equalizer in the second half from the spot-kick by Riyad Mahrez in the 57 minutes.

The decision to award a penalty followed a review by Referee Stuart Attwell after a challenge on Bernardo Silva who was brought down in the box by Granit Xhaka.

Unfortunately, again, in the 59 minutes, arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes was shown the second yellow card and a red for a challenge.

“Hard to accept it, but only God knows everything! Proud to be part of this team!!! Amazing part! We will keep working together, fighting until the end!! for this team I will run until i die!! Let’s keep improving in 2022!!!,” emotional Tweet by Gabriel.

Ten men Arsenal then conceded late in the 93 minutes after Rodri doubled the lead for the visitors.

Arsenal’s loss to The Citizens Saturday came after great performances they had had in the league and cup competitions against Norwich and Sunderland AFC, respectively.

Thomas Partey was the engine of the midfield. He made 48 touches, 15 duels contested, 9 duels won, 8 ball recoveries, 1 interception, 4 tackles, 77.8% pass accuracy, among other ratings.

He was later awarded Man of the Match for his solid performance for Arteta’s side.

Leon Osman, doing punditry duty on BBC One, said: “I actually thought the referee got all the big decisions right today.”

ALSO READ:

Aaron Ramsdale on the penalties: “Both penalties, I don’t know why the referee is told to see one and not the other. It is there for a reason, go and use it. It is the inconsistency. The whole point is to help the game out, in real-time, it didn’t look like one and slow it down on a screen and it is given.”

Pep Guardiola, City Manager, said: “Arsenal were better, we faced a team in the last year who struggled to be in the top four but they are now and had six or seven days from last game. We had two and a half, we came back and didn’t have energy. That’s why we tried to put one more in the middle.”

Arsenal was irked at “inconsistent use of the VAR” and questioned whether or not they or City should have got a penalty.

Stuivenberg: “It is a penalty but I am looking for consistency. We have VAR in place so why not check yourself as a referee? That did not happen so it is disappointing.”