‘I will only be satisfied if they give me the two points back’: Mikel Arteta takes a swipe at PGMOL

Mikel Arteta has taken a swipe at the PGMOL following their apology for allowing Ivan Toney’s equaliser against Arsenal on Saturday to incorrectly stand.

While the Gunners boss accepted the apology, he insisted that he would only be satisfied if Arsenal were ‘given the two points back’. 

Sportsmail exclusively revealed that VAR official Lee Mason had forgotten to even use the offside lines – which would have ruled Toney’s goal out as Christian Norgaard, who played the ball to the Brentford striker, was offside. 

And Arteta did not hold back on Mason, claiming the official’s mistake came down to ‘not understanding’ his job as opposed to ‘human error’ – which the PGMOL blamed the blunder for.

It was an abysmal Premier League weekend for VAR, with Brighton also left aggrieved by a controversial decision that saw Pervis Estupinan’s opener at Crystal Palace incorrectly chalked off. 

VAR Lee Mason forgot to draw offside lines when assessing Ivan Toney’s goal for Brentford 

Mason has been removed from VAR duty this weekend following his mistake at the Emirates

It led to the Premier League’s referee chief Howard Webb contacting both clubs to acknowledge ‘significant’ errors were made in the VAR process. He also summoned all officials to Stockley Park for an emergency summit.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s huge top-of-the-table clash with second-place Manchester City, Arteta said: ‘We appreciate the apology and the explanation at the same time. 

‘That’s it. We have to move on. That has made the players, staff and our fans stronger to pass this hurdle that they put on us.’

But when quizzed on whether he accepts the apology, he said: ‘I will only be satisfied if they give me the two points back which is not going to be the case.’

The Arsenal boss then hit out at Mason, who has been taken off VAR duty for next weekend’s fixtures. 

‘We ended the [Brentford] game, after analysing it with the evidence and images, with a huge anger and disappointment,’ he said.

‘We have got a lot of sympathy from a lot of colleagues and in the industry and in football. They are [saying] we cannot play with integrity in the way that we do. And that’s it. We have to move on.

‘That has certainly made the players, the staff, the fans even stronger with a desire to pass this herald that they put on us. We move on with it.’

‘Because that wasn’t a human error. That was a big, big, big not conceiving and understanding your job. That’s not acceptable, I’m sorry. And that cost Arsenal two points and that’s not going to be restored.

Referees chief Howard Webb was forced to contact Arsenal and Brighton to admit ‘significant efforts in the VAR process’

VAR should have ruled out Ivan Toney’s goal against Arsenal on Saturday which the PGMOL apologised for

‘So we are going have to find those two points somewhere else in the league. 

‘But at the same time, we appreciate the apology and the explanations which were really open to be fair.’

The dropped points could be pivotal come the end of the season which is why the Arsenal boss was so incensed.

The Gunners, who are chasing their first title in 19 years, go into Wednesday’s crunch clash three points clear of City, vitally with a game in hand.