What Mikel Arteta did after Arsenal vs Liverpool in 2023 makes him look very hypocritical now

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Mikel Arteta didn’t have the most enjoyable of weekends as his side dropped two points at home to Brighton in the Premier League.

The Gunners dropped to fourth in the Premier League after this weekend’s result, with Liverpool and Manchester City now two points ahead at the top.

Arsenal made a number of signings in the summer with the hope of going that one step further this season after narrowly missing out to Pep Guardiola’s side.

Indeed, the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, David Raya, Raheem Sterling and Neto either secured permanent or loan moves to the Emirates.

Interestingly, Sterling turned down a move to Saudi Arabia as he looks to stay in England.

He’ll no doubt be working closely with Mikel Arteta over the international break, with the Spaniard hoping to get over some of the controversy from the weekend…

Mikel Arteta left fuming after Arsenal vs Brighton incident

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men early in the second-half against Brighton at the weekend as Declan Rice was given a red card for kicking the ball away.

This led to Arteta taking aim at referee Chris Kavanagh and the other officials after the game, as per Arsenal.

“I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there were two incidents and nothing happened.

“Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan, he turns around, doesn’t see the player coming and touches the ball.

“By law, he can make that call, but by law then he needs to make the next call which is a red card. So we play 10 against 11. This amazed me, at this level.”

What happened between Arsenal and Liverpool in 2023?

On the 23rd of December 2023, Liverpool hosted Arsenal in what turned out to be a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Chris Kavanagh was the referee on that day and during the game there were a number of controversial decisions, including the Martin Odegaard handball.

Following the full-time whistle as players and staff from both sides made their way onto the pitch to shake hands and applaud their respective supporters, Mikel Arteta and referee Chris Kavanagh shared a rather bemusing exchange as they both appeared to laugh and joke.

Dermot Gallagher even came out and stated that Odegaard should’ve been penalised and a penalty should’ve been awarded.

So, it seems very hypocritical of Arteta to have a go at the exact same referee that decided to let Arsenal get away with a blatant penalty that would’ve seen them come away with no points last season.