Arsenal will contact English football's refereeing body, Pro Ref, to seek an explanation after Sunderland were awarded a penalty during Arsenal's 2-0 win on Saturday.
Referee John Brooks penalised Ezri Konsa for a tangle with Sunderland's Dan Ballard, awarding the spot-kick before VAR confirmed his decision. Manager Mikel Arteta was furious with the call, even though the penalty was saved and his side went on to win comfortably.
Arteta said Ballard had gripped Konsa in a "judo roll", dragging the defender down to create the impression of a foul. He was booked during the match for leaving his technical area as he protested the decision.
"It is unacceptable at this level. Unacceptable," Arteta told TNT Sports after the game.
"This can change the course of the season, the championship. I've watched it 10 times to make sure. The 27 years I've been in football, it's not a penalty in any case, in any context, at any level, in any league."
"I watched it live, and I thought it was not possible to make this kind of decision for a penalty, because it's a judo roll, that's what it is. It cannot happen."
Arteta said he could not find an explanation for the award and that Arsenal would now try to get one from officials. He said he would rather have spent his post-match interview discussing the quality of the game and the level of the league "than talking about this".
Pro Ref under scrutiny
The refereeing body has already had to apologise to Manchester United this weekend for an erroneous VAR call that allowed Erling Haaland's goal to stand in the Manchester derby.
Arsenal's anger over the penalty was not softened by how the match actually played out. Goalkeeper David Raya saved Enzo Le Fee's spot-kick from 12 yards, and Bruno Guimaraes put Arsenal ahead with a stunning opener just two minutes later.
Sunderland's afternoon worsened deep into stoppage time when Reinildo Mandava was sent off for pulling Bukayo Saka's shirt in the penalty area. Saka converted the resulting spot-kick to make it 2-0.
Arteta's complaint centres on the initial penalty call rather than the result, which Arsenal never looked in danger of losing.
