Mikel Arteta was "very disappointed" with referee Anthony Taylor's decision to award a penalty for a foul on Joao Pedro by William Saliba.
dropped points against the Seagulls, with Pedro converting the spot kick to after Ethan Nwaneri had given the Gunners an early lead. Taylor pointed to the spot after Pedro flicked the ball up in the air and Saliba made contact with his head as he attempted to win possession.
VAR did take a second look at the incident, but felt there was "sufficient contact for a penalty" and Pedro made it count. However, was not happy with the decision and told Sky Sports after the game: "I'm disappointed because we wanted to win the game.
"We started the game with good actions and a good goal. We knew it was going to be a challenging game. We gave too many balls away in the second half and we're very disappointed with the penalty.
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"I've never seen that in my life – and Saliba touches the ball. [It wasn't one] for me, no. We're playing every three days. I understand how much we want to [win], but in terms of the quality and the consistency and doing the simple things right against a competitive team, we didn't do enough today."
However, former midfielder Jamie Redknapp and ex-Brighton star Steve Sidwell both felt Taylor was correct in awarding a penalty. "Saliba gets himself in a muddle," Redknapp explained on Sky Sports.
"Then it's just a reaction, to stick his head out to try and win the ball. It's chaotic and it's not what we would normally associate with Arsenal. Is it a penalty? Absolutely. You can see the contact."
Sidwell added: "Joao Pedro has shown a bit of Brazilian flair. As the ball has come up, he reads the bounce and flicks it up. It's a genuine attempt to get the ball from Saliba but Joao Pedro gets there before him."
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler also felt it was a "clear" penalty, telling Match of the Day: "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 to late, therefore it was a clear one."
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