Arteta demands answers after Arsenal penalty decision as Rice injury concern eased

Mikel Arteta says he was surprised by the decision to deny Arsenal a penalty in their win over Hull City, admitting he does not yet understand which rule took precedence in the VAR review.

Arsenal secured a narrow victory at Emirates Stadium, but their one-goal success was overshadowed by the controversial decision involving Kai Havertz. The forward was not awarded a penalty after the referee was sent to the pitch-side monitor, with Arsenal later told the call was linked to Havertz being offside at the start of the move.

Arteta said: “I haven’t watched the incident again, and I don’t want to lie to you. I was surprised by the decision because Benjamin was telling me, when the referee was called to review the screen, that it was a clear penalty.

“I now understand they decided not to award it because Kai was in an offside position at the beginning of the play. I don’t know how to interpret the decision, but I am sure they will explain it so we can understand what happened.”

He added: “It seems confusing. Even here, we cannot determine whether the offside affects the decision to award the penalty or not.”

Asked whether football’s rules had become too complicated for managers to follow, Arteta replied: “I don’t know. First I need to understand the decision and find out which rule takes priority in the process. Then I can answer.”

He continued: “I think he was offside, but the law seems to say that it does not matter.” When asked whether that meant Havertz had not been offside, Arteta responded by shrugging his shoulders.

Rice fitness and Arsenal’s narrow wins

Declan Rice was substituted after about 60 minutes, prompting questions about his fitness, but Arteta confirmed: “Yes, he is fine.”

The manager was pleased with the result before the international break and said Arsenal had created enough opportunities to win more comfortably.

“We were the better team and had several chances, but we lacked effectiveness,” he said. “So we kept pushing until we broke through their defence. Martin’s goal was not the most beautiful, but it was effective.”

Arsenal have now recorded nine wins in 10 matches. Arteta praised his players and staff after a demanding period featuring extensive travel and limited recovery time.

“The team has shown an incredible mentality and quality,” he said. “We are not in a perfect position and know there are many areas to improve. We will analyse them during the break and decide how to develop, because the next stage will be extremely difficult.”

Arteta also addressed Arsenal’s offside figures. Havertz has been caught offside 15 times this season, while Arsenal have been flagged 35 times in the Premier League.

“There are things we must improve, and this is one of them,” he said. “The number is higher than it should be. The Aston Villa match puts those figures into a different perspective, and I think the sample is still too small to analyse fully, but your observation is valid.”

He said Arsenal needed greater efficiency after twice going through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, missing a penalty and wasting another opportunity.

“Sometimes we try to score the perfect goal against a compact defence,” Arteta said. “We need more chaos and to score earlier.”

Noni Madueke, who was unhappy at being substituted, was praised for regaining his form after earning more playing time.

“He deserved the opportunity,” said Arteta. “He did not do enough at the start of the season, but he trained and came back more serious and different. He is performing brilliantly and must keep his place.”

Arteta added that Madueke had missed three clear chances but had contributed to Martin’s goal and needed to improve his decisions and effectiveness.

He also praised Bruno Guimaraes, whose name was chanted by supporters as he walked around the pitch, saying: “He can give more. He was influential and imposed himself, but there is still more to come, particularly in the understanding between the midfield players.”