Gary Neville called Arsenal’s VAR-related statement “dangerous.”
Neville and Ian Wright have sharply clashed in their remarks on The Overlap.
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Ian Wright has defended Arsenal’s statement endorsing Mikel Arteta’s tirade against Newcastle after their loss there last weekend.
When Arsenal lost 1-0, the manager unleashed a furious tirade on VAR officials, calling Anthony Gordon’s winning goal ’embarrassing’ and a ‘disgrace’ during his post-match media obligations.
In a statement released on Sunday, Arsenal firmly supported him, saying the Premier League ‘deserves better’ and that the defeat contained more ‘unacceptable refereeing and VAR blunders’.
Gary Neville called the statements made by Arsenal and Liverpool after their contentious loss to Tottenham “dangerous” and said that teams had to “behave better in these circumstances.”
Ian Wright expressed his happiness that the Gunners had backed Mikel Arteta during an interview on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast. He also stated that the Spaniard was “well within his rights” to criticize the officials that day.
The Arsenal icon said, “Yeah, I’m pleased that Jurgen Klopp did too because of the gravity of the mistake,” in response to Neville’s question about if he was proud of the team for supporting Arteta.
“I continue to believe Mikel was acting appropriately.” Arsenal’s support of their manager makes me glad because errors are being made on such a large scale that something needs to be said.
If what Mikel stated was OK, then why shouldn’t the club support him? Can we not criticize them?
“Everyone is involved in some way in which referees operate; they have their own programs, co-commentary segments, and are involved in the entertainment now for the photo ops!”
In response, Neville intensified his criticism of the Gunners’ handling of the situation.
“My point is that, this is Arsenal Football Club,” he retorted. You really cannot publicly turn against an institution, one of the original Premier League clubs, that bears some of the blame for the regulations in place.
It’s the referees from the Premier League. The coaches, players, fans, managers, and pundits are all free to criticize the referees, but can the clubs, like Liverpool and Arsenal, publicly question the integrity of sport, bring up replays, and consider other options? That seems incredibly risky to me.
Before Arsenal defeated Sevilla in the Champions League, Arteta justified his remarks from the previous weekend.
He declared: “It is my responsibility to stand in front of the cameras and provide an unbiased evaluation of what transpires during the game.” What I did was this.
“Express honestly how I thought the team performed and how the choices made affected the outcome of the game.”
It is my responsibility to protect my players, the team, and the public as much as I can. I will consistently follow through on this, not based on my gut instincts but rather on the evidence and being as transparent as I can. I do it every time. It’s who I am, and I have to stand up for my club.