Refereeing decisions were once again a hot topic of discussion during Arsenal’s win over Newcastle United.
The Gunners started the game brilliantly and dominated large parts of the first half. They could’ve been 4-0 up if things had gone their way, but they went a goal down instead.
Nick Woltemade got the better of Gabriel Magalhaes and scored the opener, and the Toon decided to sit deep and defend from that point.
Thankfully for Arsenal fans, Mikel Merino and Gabriel scored two world-class headers to win the game for the Gunners.
Bukayo Saka delivers verdict on refereeing decisions against Arsenal
Arsenal fans will tell you that they have been on the wrong end of some terrible refereeing decisions over the years.
From Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard’s red cards last season to David Luiz, Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Gibbs getting sent off in the past, there have been some bizarre calls.
At St James’ Park on Sunday, Nick Pope brought Viktor Gyokeres down inside the box, and the referee rightly pointed to the spot.
However, VAR intervened and made Jarred Gillett overturn his decision, and Arsenal fans were furious at that point. Everyone was upset that decisions like these always go against the Gunners.
In his post-match interview, Bukayo Saka echoed that exact thought and made his feelings clear about the decisions against his club.
He said on Sky Sports: “Obviously, there are a few things we can speak about. For example, the penalty.
“For me, if you have VAR, it’s for clear and obvious errors, and the fact that it took the ref that long to decide shows that it’s not a clear and obvious error.
“Things like this, these little things, always go against us. But I think today, we got what we deserved for sure. That’s why we are all so happy.”
Arsenal and other clubs should demand better refereeing
Howard Webb has come out and claimed that refereeing in the Premier League has improved, but we just can’t see it.
There’s at least one awful decision every week, and Arsenal have been on the wrong end on quite a few over the last three years.
It’s not easy, as the PGMOL are a separate organisation, but every club should unite and demand better officiating.
The Premier League is the best league in the world, and seeing poor decisions every week is just embarrassing. The referees need to do better.
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