Mark Clattenburg clears up Arsenal referee claim from fans after recalling ‘obsessed’ Arsene Wenger moment

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Arsenal fans have not been happy with Premier League officials this season, a narrative that Mark Clattenburg has commented on.

Every football club has felt a grievance with a referee in their time, whether it be Sunday League or the Premier League. 

This season, Arsenal have seen some controversial decisions go against them, with no club collecting more red cards than the Gunners thus far.

Mikel Arteta has aimed digs at referees in the past, a coping mechanism was also taken up by Arsene Wenger, who had a lot to say during his tenure. 

• READ MORE: Arsenal’s red card luck goes against them again as Chelsea star gets away with clear referee mistake

Mark Clattenburg recalls Arsene Wenger moment 

Wenger had problems with refereeing in England during his time at Arsenal, rarely passing on the opportunity to express his feelings towards officials.

With regard to Wenger’s era and his many complaints, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg mentioned the former Arsenal manager when quizzed about conspiracy claims of bias against the Gunners.

When asked if ‘Arsenal fans are the problem’, Clattenburg responded ‘no’ but, recalled a game managed by Wenger during his career.

“I remember refereeing Arsenal and Arsene Wenger was obsessed about Diego Costa,” Clattenburg said on The Overlap.

“He was obsessed about him and I was refereeing this game, Arsenal could go top just after Christmas, Chelsea were having a bad season, and all the media before the game was about Diego Costa.

“I was thinking to myself, what a stupid thing to do because Diego Costa is going to turn it on, isn’t he? Everybody’s against him.”

The former referee went on to explain the problem that the game brought to him, as amid the villainising of Diego Costa, the ex-Chelsea striker drew a poignant foul.

“All of sudden, [Per] Mertesacker, he and Diego Costa chase the ball, what does Mertesacker do? Brings him down. So what do I have to do? Send him off. So I sent Mertesacker off, Arsenal lose the match and it’s sour grapes again.”

Clattenburg rounded off his assessment of Arsenal by fast-forwarding things to the present-day complaints against the Gunners, insisting that sometimes, clubs have to ‘take ownership’ over results. 

“‘Oh it’s Arsenal, they had the chance to win the league’, you can blame everything you want but sometimes you’ve actually got to take ownership and say ‘do you know what, it’s not about everything, it’s about the team aren’t playing very well.’”

Arsenal have had a tough season of controversial calls

Clattenburg had a strong message to Arsenal, and one that some will agree with but, the former referee’s insight can’t excuse some recent mishaps.

Wenger’s concerns about the standard of referees in the Premier League still ring true today, as it was only before the international break that Chelsea were lucky to escape a red card at the Emirates. 

On the subject of red cards, Arsenal have been on the ropes this season, with the most prominent events being Myles Lewis-Skelly’s overturned suspension, Declan Rice’s red card against Brighton and Leandro Trossard’s controversial sending-off.

While Clattenburg touched base with the Gunners and tedious conspiracy claims regarding Arsenal, there remains a lot to answer for when it comes to the standard as a whole this season.