Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side will be fuelled by anger when they face Manchester City in a clash between the Premier League’s top two on Wednesday.
The Gunners lead over City at the top of the table was cut to three points at the weekend after a controversial 1-1 draw with Brentford.
Arsenal received an apology from the body in charge of referees after Brentford’s goal was wrongly awarded because of a failure to properly check for offside by the VAR official.
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“That certainly has made our players, staff and fans even stronger and with more desire to pass this hurdle that they put on us,” said Arteta at his pre-match press conference.
“We ended the game after analysing all the images that we had with a huge anger and disappointment because that wasn’t a human error. That was a big not conceiving and understanding your job and that’s not acceptable. It cost Arsenal two points and that’s not going to be restored.”
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The VAR for that match, Lee Mason, has since been stood down from VAR duty this weekend.
Arteta was part of the City coaching staff as Pep Guardiola’s assistant when they won back-to-back titles in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
City have won two more Premier League crowns in the past two seasons and Arteta said they remain the benchmark for his side.
Arsenal have a game in hand on their title rivals, but have not won a league title in 19 years.
“What they have done in the last six years, they absolutely merit it,” added Arteta.
“The way they play, the way they have competed, the way they have gone through difficulties. For us the challenge is to get to that level.”