Mikel Arteta has been labelled a hypocrite for his outburst about VAR following Arsenal's controversial defeat to Newcastle.
The Spaniard was left seething after Anthony Gordon's second half winner was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check. Officials examined three possible problems; a potential offside, a potential foul, and whether the ball had gone out of play, before allowing the goal to stand.
Arteta was convinced Arsenal were the victims of an unacceptable miscarriage of justice and branded the decision "an absolute disgrace" after the game. But fans took issue with his assessment, especially after contradictory comments he made about VAR in the past came to light.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta goes on epic rant over ‘embarrassing’ Newcastle goal after three VAR checks
READ MORE: Technology proves Mikel Arteta has nothing to complain about over Newcastle goal
Following Tottenham's highly-contentious victory over Liverpool in September, in which Luis Diaz had a legitimate goal wrongly ruled out due to a miscommunication between VAR and the referee, Arteta urged fans to "accept that mistakes happen". He also insisted that officials are "trying to make the best decision and protect the game" and that "we need to give them support".
But the safeguarding of officials didn't seem much of a priority on Saturday night. In an extraordinary rant, he told reporters: "We have to talk about how the hell [Gordon's goal] stand up. It's incredible. I feel embarrassed. It's an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed, an absolute disgrace. Because it's not a goal."
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When asked to clarify which of the three possible problems he thought VAR ought to have corrected, Arteta hinted he thought that all of them warranted action. "For many reasons it's not a goal," he added. "There's too much at stake here. We put so much effort [in], it's so difficult to compete at this level. Again, it's an absolute disgrace."
Fans on social media ripped into him afterwards, with one commenting: "Everyone meet Mikel Arteta, the biggest hypocrite in the Premier League." Another said: "This is rich coming from Arteta. He was going on about respecting referees and supporting them a few weeks back. What happened?"
A third added: "I’m sorry, but Arteta’s comments about the wildest robbery of football history just shows how hypocritical he is. No sympathy for him, glad it happened to him even though it’s not even a robbery."
Subsequent reviews of the footage suggested that the former midfielder had little to complain about. Analysis of the goal by the Premier League’s Middle East broadcaster beIN Sports showed that the ball stayed in play, albeit by a fraction, while Gordon was shown to be marginally onside before latching on to Toon team-mate Joelinton's knockdown from close range.
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The only real point of contention is whether Joelinton fouled Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes, but given the subjectivity of the laws surrounding fouls, it was hardly a stonewall decision.
The result condemned Arsenal to their first league defeat of the season, leaving neighbours Tottenham with the only undefeated record in the division. It also leaves them three points behind league-leaders Manchester City, though that gap could extend to five points if Spurs beat Chelsea on Monday night.
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