Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has taken to Twitter this evening, to make his feelings regarding the recent officiating of his side’s fixtures crystal clear.
Watkins the match-winner
Mikel Arteta’s men were of course back in action earlier today, in a Premier League meeting with Aston Villa.
The Gunners headed into proceedings desperate for a bounce-back result, having seen a fine recent spell of league form brought to an abrupt halt at Molineux during the week.
When the 90 minutes were said and done this afternoon, though, Arsenal’s woes only deepened.
A hard-fought affair at Villa Park eventually saw the hosts emerge on the right side of a 1-0 scoreline, courtesy of an early strike from Ollie Watkins.
After a poor pass on the part of Cedric Soares left Gabriel Magalhaes in all sorts of trouble, Bertrand Traore squared across the face for Watkins’ strike to deflect home off Rob Holding.
Highlights: Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal
‘Another one’
Despite eventually falling to defeat this afternoon, though, Arsenal, to their credit, did in fact dominate much of the action at Villa Park.
The Gunners emerged from the clash with two thirds of the possession, and had their hosts pinned inside their own half throughout the 2nd-half.
In the end, though, what cost Arteta and co. dear was a combination of a lack of cutting edge, and, at key moments, no rub of the green when it was needed most.
The north Londoners’ lack of luck proved largely on the officiating side of things, with Ezri Konsa having escaped with just a booking in a potential last-man foul on Bukayo Saka with half an hour on the clock, before walking the tightrope with further transgressions as the clash progressed.
The one decision which has since seemingly irked the Arsenal faithful to the greatest degree, though, came during the 2nd-half of action.
After a corner was whipped in from the right, Alexandre Lacazette was adjudged to have fouled Emi Martinez in the Villa goal, resulting in a free-kick for the hosts.
Upon replays being broadcast, however, it became evident that it was in fact Martinez who had been dragging out of his former teammate, causing Lacazette to fall into the Villa no.1.
This is far from the only contentious decision to have gone against the Gunners of late, with widespread controversy having of course also stemmed from the club’s defeat to Wolves on Tuesday night.
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 02: David Luiz of Arsenal protests towards Referee Craig Pawson after a tackle which results in a red card and a penalty during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at Molineux on February 2, 2021 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Sam Bagnall – AMA/Getty Images)
And, as outlined above, the very man to have been at the heart of the aforementioned goalmouth challenge at Villa Park earlier today has since made his frustrations with the situation very much clear.
In response to a fan calling into question the 2nd-half free-kick awarded against Lacazette, the Frenchman took to social media to post a simple response:
Another one… 😒😒
— Alexandre Lacazette (@LacazetteAlex) February 6, 2021
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