“We don’t have any clarity yet about the decision,” Mikel Arteta said after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Hull City. The denied penalty for a pull on Kai Havertz was the moment he wanted to talk about, not Martin Ødegaard’s winner in the 72nd minute.

The Havertz incident

Arsenal were denied a penalty after the referee went to the monitor to review Havertz being dragged back in the box. Farai Hallam announced that was a foul, but the penalty was not given because Havertz was offside.

Arteta said he had not watched it back, and that was clear in the frustration of his comments. “I was surprised, because when they sent the referee to the monitor the bench was telling me that it’s a clear penalty, it’s pulling,” he said, quoted by standard.co.uk. He added: “I know they decided not to because the starting position of Kai was offside, so I don’t know what the interpretation is. I’m sure they will make that clear to understand it.”

The offside issue is not a small footnote here. Arsenal have been caught offside 35 times this season, which explains why Arteta could reach for the joke, “Are you counting the penalty? So 34!” The complaint is still rooted in a specific incident, though, and he was asking for the interpretation rather than claiming the decision was settled in Arsenal’s favour.

Rice’s substitution

Arteta also used the press conference to calm any concern over Declan Rice. Rice came off just after the hour mark at the Emirates Stadium, with Mikel Merino coming on in his place, and Arteta said he was “fine” after the substitution.

He added: “We are really looking after him more than any other season. The way he’s training and all the load. That’s it.” Rice has started all ten league matches this season, so a 63-minute outing against Hull City fits the idea of Arsenal managing his minutes rather than reacting to a problem.

Arsenal left with the three points and the noise around the decision. The penalty debate will carry on until the interpretation is explained more clearly, but the immediate facts are simple enough: Arsenal beat Hull City 1-0, Havertz did not get the spot-kick, and Rice was taken off after 63 minutes.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →