The Arsenal X files: Gunners count the cost of seldom-seen decisions against them
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Mikel Arteta conducted his own impromptu research after Saturday's unusual penalty for Brighton that saw Arsenal drop another two points in their chase of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
"I have never seen something like this in my life," Arteta told BBC Sport, after William Saliba was penalised for a clash of heads with Joao Pedro, despite heading the ball himself in the process.
"He touches the ball as well. Bizarre," Arteta added. "I asked the boys if they have, and no-one has seen this before. So it is a new one."
It's the latest instalment in the Ripley's Believe it or Arsenal annals, with Gunners fans across social media compiling long lists of unprecedented decisions to have gone against the club in recent times.
Here are some selected cuts from Arsenal X-Files.
Brighton were also the beneficiaries when Declan Rice was sent off on a second yellow card in September for nudging the ball a few metres away as Joel Veltman shaped to take a free kick. Arsenal's 10 men conceded a second-half equaliser. Premier League referees appeared to be focusing on the offence of delaying restarts, though punishment has since been selectively applied.
Arteta said aferwards: "I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be."
Arsenal cemented their dominance of this subsection of Premier League discipline when Leandro Trossard also copped a second yellow a few weeks later for playing a pass forward just after Michael Oliver had blown his whistle in the draw with Manchester City.
Arteta fumed afterwards: "Anyone that has played football or any sport[can see it's less than a second. Less than a second."
In February 2022, Michael Oliver showed Gabriel Martinelli two yellow cards and a red for separate offences in the same passage of play against Wolves. The Brazilian attempted to delay a Daniel Podence throw, failed, then chased and brought down Chiquinho around four seconds later.
"The red card was one you have to want to give," commented Arteta.
Arteta's most memorable meltdown so far came following Anthony Gordon's winner for Newcastle last season, which survived VAR checks for offside, the ball going out of play, and a fairly clear push on defender Gabriel. Words like 'embarrassing', 'disgrace' and 'sick' were liberally used.
In February 2023, Arsenal dropped two points at home to Brentford when VAR official Lee Mason forgot to draw the relevant lines when reviewing Ivan Toney's equaliser, missing an offside.
PGMOL representative Chris Foy said: "The lines, simply, didn’t go down. And that counts as human error." Mason soon left the referees' body by mutual consent.
In 2014, referee Andre Marriner issued an apology for sending off Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs by mistake in a 6-0 defeat by Chelsea for a handball committed by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, despite the latter admitting he was the culprit. A statement read that Marriner was "disappointed".
In October 2016, Granit Xhaka was given a straight red card for a trip from behind on Swansea's Modou Barrow. Though widely seen as a welcome clampdown on cynicism, the decision appeared to have no basis in rule and Moss was left out of the next round of Premier League games. Arsene Wenger said: "It looked a harsh decision, more like a dark yellow - but then the ref showed a bright red."
Robin van Persie was handed perhaps the harshest red card in Champions League history in the 2011 round of 16 for shooting at goal following an offside decision with Arsenal leading Barcelona on aggregate. Referee Massimo Busacca swiftly waved the second yellow and Barcelona ran out winners.
Van Persie protested: “In my opinion, it was a total joke, the sending off. How can I hear his whistle with 95,000 people jumping up?"