Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he had “never” experienced a decision like the penalty awarded to Brighton in his side’s 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

Brighton striker Joao Pedro collided his head with William Saliba in the penalty area and was found to have beaten the French defender on the ball. Referee Anthony Taylor hesitated before pointing to the spot.

VAR clarified the decision and Pedro converted the penalty, leveling the score at 1-1, a result that held until the final whistle and leaves Arteta’s side five points behind leaders Liverpool after two games more.

“We are really disappointed with the decision that led to the goal because I have never seen anything like that in my life,” Arteta told the BBC after the game. “He touches the ball too.”

The Premier League Match Center announced on its X account that the penalty was awarded because Saliba made “sufficient contact”.

The Spanish coach added that the penalty was not solely responsible for Arsenal losing points for the ninth time in the league this season, as Arsenal have not only won ten times in the entire 2023/24 season.

“We did a lot of things wrong with the ball, so we didn’t get any momentum, we never got into areas where we could create chances and counter-press at the right moment,” Arteta said.

“We conceded a chance when we had 10 players on the field and (Yankuba) Minteh took off. I think we have to do a lot more than we did today and unfortunately we lost two points.”

Arsenal had taken the lead in the first half through 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who became the first player to score two league goals for the club before the age of 18.

Nwaneri was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli at half-time and Arteta confirmed in his post-match press conference that the young star was withdrawn due to concerns about a “muscle problem”.

Arsenal and Arteta don’t have to take long to take stock after Saturday’s draw as they face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday.