Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has blamed the ref for his side’s 3-0 North London derby loss to Tottenham on Thursday night in which they conceded an early penalty and had a player sent off.
The Gunners put up a poor showing on the night conceding an early penalty and going a man down within 33 minutes into the fixture.
Cedric Soares was penalised early in the tie after a foul in the box gifted Spurs a spot kick calmly converted by Harry Kane.
Around the half hour mark, Arsenal defender Rob Holding put his side at a numerical disadvantage as he was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the match.
Moments later, an unmarked Kane doubled his side’s lead with a header from close range to further pile on the misery for the Gunners.
The tie was put beyond the reach of the visitors after Son Heung-Min added a third goal in the opening stages of the second half.
Arteta blamed the ref of the match Paul Tierney for a series of decisions he felt were unjustly called against his team which led to the defeat.
“If I say what I think I am suspended for six months,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “I don’t know how to lie so I prefer not to say what I think. I cannot say what I think.
“I want the referee to come in front of the camera and explain his decisions. It’s a shame because such a beautiful game was destroyed today.
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“I am not unhappy with my players. I am proud of my players. The decision was made. We can’t change it. The referee has to make a decision in football.”
Arteta’s side were just a win away from securing a Champions League spot but will now been forced to wait a bit more after the derby defeat.
“Our focus is Newcastle,” Arteta added. “This game is history. This is gone. It went out of our hands and we have to accept it. Now we need to be the team that you saw from the beginning.
“When you lose a football match in the conditions, we lost them, it’s painful. But we have a huge match on Monday so we will try to beat them.
“We have two games to play each. It’s in our hands and now we have to do our jobs. We showed from the beginning in this game.”
Arsenal are still in fourth spot but only a point clear of Spurs in fifth. They will have to win their remaining matches to secure a much desired Champions League spot.
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