Arteta is the new Sir Alex Ferguson, says Carragher
by Moronfolu Adeyemi · The Eagle OnlineFormer Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has compared Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson following the Spaniard’s furious reaction to a controversial penalty decision against Sunderland.
Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light, but the result was overshadowed by a first-half penalty awarded to Sunderland while the game was still goalless.
Referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot after Ezri Konsa was penalised for grappling with Dan Ballard inside the Arsenal box. VAR reviewed the incident from the corner kick but upheld Attwell’s decision.
Arteta strongly criticised the decision after the match, describing the penalty call as “unacceptable”.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher said Arteta’s reaction demonstrated the influence he now wields in the Premier League.
Carragher said: “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.”
The former England international said Arteta appeared determined to use his post-match media duties to ensure the incident remained a talking point.
Carragher added: “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.”
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He continued: “But that’s a manager – we’ve seen it with Sir Alex Ferguson, we’ve seen it with Jose Mourinho.”
Carragher also suggested that Arteta’s public criticism could have an impact on future refereeing decisions involving Arsenal.
He said: “It’d be interesting to see how long it takes for another referee to give a penalty against Arsenal in a similar situation.”
Arteta’s comments have added to growing scrutiny of Pro Ref following a weekend of controversial officiating decisions in the Premier League.
The refereeing body recently admitted to an “error of judgement” during the Manchester derby after VAR failed to properly assess Enzo Fernandez’s offside position in the build-up to Erling Haaland’s winning goal.
The VAR officials involved in that decision were subsequently stood down for the upcoming round of fixtures.
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