Mikel Arteta condemned the officials' decision to award Sunderland a penalty against Arsenal, despite his side winning 2-0. The incident occurred early in the second half when defender Ezri Konsa was deemed to have fouled Dan Ballard during a corner. Referee Stuart Atwell pointed to the spot, with VAR confirming the decision.

Starting this season, referees have been instructed to pay greater attention to grappling and shoving in the box during corners. Atwell stated Konsa was "all over him at the near post facing the wrong way." However, Sunderland failed to capitalize as Enzo Le Fée's penalty was brilliantly saved by David Raya. Arsenal took the lead through Bruno Guimarães' strike from outside the box and sealed victory with a Bukayo Saka penalty in injury time.

Arteta expressed frustration postmatch, stating: "It's a huge win, but it could've been something very different. They [the referees] could have changed the game." When asked about the penalty incident, he said: "Yes. It is unacceptable at this level.

Unacceptable." He added: "The 27 years I've been in football, it's not a penalty in any case, in any context, at any level, in any league. I watched it live, and I thought it was not possible to make this kind of decision for a penalty, because it's a judo roll, that's what it is. It cannot happen." This can change the course of the season, the championship.

I've watched it 10 times to make sure.".