Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle at the weekend, as Anthony Gordon scored a scrappy opener that was reviewed by VAR. They checked to see if the ball had gone out of play, firstly, before they then investigated whether Joelinton had committed a foul in the build-up. In addition to that, they also checked for an offside, but the goal was ultimately allowed to stand, to Arteta’s immense chagrin.
The Spaniard claimed in the immediate aftermath of the game that it was a “disgrace” that the goal was allowed to stand, while also saying that he was “embarrassed”. Arsenal subsequently released a club statement backing their manager, and that appears to have sparked interest from the FA, who have now written formally to both Arteta and Arsenal to ask for their “observations”, per Simon Collings.
Arsenal and Arteta have three days to respond and from there, the FA has several options. It can either issue a charge, issue a formal warning, or remind Arsenal of their responsibilities. There is also the potential that the FA will take no further action depending on the responses they receive.
Arsenal and Arteta will formulate their responses and the FA will consider those before deciding which action to take.
