Jamie Carragher: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta becoming like Sir Alex Ferguson after ref criticism of Sunderland penalty | Football News

Jamie Carragher says Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is “becoming the Sir Alex Ferguson of the Premier League” after strongly criticising the penalty awarded against his side in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland.

A furious Arteta described the saved second-half penalty as “unacceptable” after referee John Brooks pointed to the spot when Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa brought down Dan Ballard.

The Gunners have subsequently sought an explanation from refereeing body Pro Ref over the penalty award.

Arteta’s anger has led Carragher to draw a comparison with ex-Manchester United boss Ferguson, who was famously unafraid to publicly criticise match officials, even while his side were the dominant domestic force.

Arsenal did not concede a penalty in last season’s title-winning campaign and Carragher believes “don” Arteta is using his Premier League-champion status to influence referees’ decision-making.

He told Monday Night Football: “This was Mikel Arteta becoming the Sir Alex Ferguson of the Premier League right now.

“He’s the don at the moment; he’s the Premier League champion.

“A lot of new managers about… he’s been in his role for six or seven years, and he feels he’s in a position of power to say, ‘Yeah, it wasn’t a penalty’. And I don’t think it was a penalty.

“But it’d be interesting to see how long it takes for another referee to give a penalty against Arsenal in a similar situation.

“I thought it was very interesting in the press conference; one of the journalists made a point about, no matter what question you asked him, he kept going back to the penalty, so he was determined to get the narrative out that this won’t happen again to his club.

“But that’s a manager – we’ve seen it with Sir Alex Ferguson, we’ve seen it with Jose Mourinho.”

Former Luton, Middlesbrough and Wolves boss Rob Edwards was the special guest on MNF and concurred with Carragher’s view on Arteta.

He said: “I think Jamie’s right. He’s put himself into a position now where he’s looking after his team and his football club, and people will listen to the Premier League-winning manager, won’t they?

“They will listen to him; he’s a powerful voice there now.”

Arsenal to contact Pro Ref over Sunderland penalty

Latest from Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

Arsenal are set to hold talks with Pro Ref over the penalty Sunderland were awarded on Saturday.

The Gunners want an explanation for why the penalty was given on the field and then approved by VAR.

Arsenal have regularly asked Pro Ref for consistency in refereeing decisions.

What did Arteta say after win at Sunderland?

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said at his post-match press conference at the Stadium of Light:

“The first question we have to discuss is this. This is not acceptable at this level.

“It was a beautiful game of football with two teams, with an atmosphere in the stadium that was unbelievable.

“Sunderland are so well organised, they are so good in so many phases, they have great players and they create a lot of issues. We have to cope with all of that in a really difficult week.

“And on top of that, we have to go through what we have done today, that, in my opinion, is not acceptable.

“I watched it 20 times and I cannot find a way to understand how they think to give a penalty in that situation, or the way the VAR has to intervene.

“So I don’t know what to think.

“I’m sad that we have to discuss this after such a beautiful game, that at this level, has the gravity of that. Because that changes the course of the season and it can cost you the championship.

“At this level, with all the work we put in, this cannot happen.”