Mikel Arteta explains huge anger at unacceptable VAR error as PGMOL make fresh decision

VAR official Lee Mason failed to spot Christian Norgaard’s offside in the build-up to Brentford’s equaliser on Saturday, with Mason dropped for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal's game against City, Arteta accused Mason of "not understanding" his job and joked he would only be satisfied if the Premier League “give the two points back” to the Gunners.

“After analysing the images, we [had] a huge anger and disappointment because that wasn’t a human error - that was a big, big, big [case of] not understanding the job,” said Arteta.

“That’s unacceptable. That cost us two points. That’s not going to be restored, so we’re going to have to find those two points somewhere else in the league. But at the same time, we appreciate the apology and the explanation, which was really open, to be fair.

“We’ve got a lot of sympathy from a lot of colleagues in the industry, in football, that we cannot play with the integrity of the game in the way that we do. That’s it.

“We have to move on. It has made the players, the staff and our fans even stronger and with more desire to pass this hurdle that they put on us. We are ready for it.”

It comes as John Brooks was named as fourth official for Arsenal’s trip to Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime.

Brooks was VAR for Crystal Palace’s match against Brighton last weekend where he incorrectly ruled out a goal for the away side.

LondonWorld understands that PGMOL chief Howard Webb is reviewing the current situation and has called in officials for an emergency summit ahead of the weekend’s games.

“I will only be satisfied if they give me the two points back, which is not going to be the case,” said Arteta.

“I appreciate and I think they were really sincere, open and genuine apologies and explanations, which is really good. But it doesn’t take the fact that we have two less points than we should have on the table.

“Everybody makes errors and mistakes. But that was something else. I wasn’t having it, the club wasn’t having it and I think the consequences of what happened are clear.”

Arsenal's crunch game against City on Wednesday presents a mammoth challenge for Arteta's side, having lost their past 10 Premier League games against Pep Guardiola's team.