Mikel Arteta has not accepted the VAR blunder that cost Arsenal two points against Brentford was simply "human error", even if he appreciated a "really genuine, sincere and open" apology.
Arsenal drew 1-1 with Brentford at Emirates Stadium on Saturday after Ivan Toney's equalising goal was allowed to stand.
The goal was teed up by Christian Norgaard, who had been offside in the build-up.
Lee Mason, the VAR official working on that game, had checked for a separate offence but did not spot the offside in what the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body responsible for referees in English football, described as a "significant" error.
Mason has not been allocated a fixture for the coming weekend as a result.
Although Arteta said it was important not to "crucify" the official, he suggested Mason had not merely made an error and instead did not know how to do his job.
Having described the "huge anger and disappointment" Arsenal felt upon reviewing the footage, Arteta added: "That was not a human error. That was a big, big, big [case of] not understanding your job.
"That's not acceptable, I'm sorry. That cost Arsenal two points, and that's not going to be restored, so we're going to have to find those two points somewhere else in the league."
Arsenal face Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Wednesday, but the pre-match news conference was dominated by discussion of the Toney goal.
Again suggesting Mason had not simply made a mistake, Arteta said: "That was something else. I wasn't having it; the club wasn't having it."
Still, Arteta welcomed the dialogue Arsenal had received around the incident, even if he was not "satisfied".
"I will be only satisfied if they give me the two points back, which is not going to be the case," he said.
"I appreciate and think they were really genuine, sincere and open apologies and explanations, which is really good, but it doesn't change the fact we have two less points than we should have in the table."
Indeed, City can now overtake Arsenal in the table with victory at Emirates Stadium, so Arteta knows how important it is to leave a frustrating episode behind them.
"That's it. We have to move on. It's certainly made our players, our staff and our fans even stronger and with more desire," he said. "We are ready."
Arteta added: "We cannot do anything about it. Don't use it as an excuse. Try to move on and face it."
Premier League rejects Man City request to delay 2025-26 season start
The Premier League has rejected a request from Manchester City to delay the start to their 2025-26 campaign to allow for more recovery time after the Club World Cup.
As 2022-23 Champions League winners, City are one of two English clubs – alongside Chelsea – to have secured a spot at FIFA's first 32-team Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States next year.
The tournament's expanded format has proven extremely controversial, provoking widespread criticism for denying players rest time during the off-season.
Players' union Fifpro has started legal proceedings against FIFA over the scheduling of the tournament, claiming the fixture schedule has become "unworkable".
The Club World Cup is set to run from June 15 to July 13, with players involved unlikely to receive substantial rest time before the domestic season begins in early August.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Fulham, boss Pep Guardiola revealed City had already seen a request to delay their opening game knocked back.
"The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery," Guardiola said. "Thank you so much.
"I think the club asked the league to postpone one or two or three weeks so we can have a holiday after the [Club] World Cup but it is absolutely not allowed.
"Would the Premier League say yes to us? No. Absolutely not. They won't postpone these games so there will be a moment of, 'what do we do?
"I don't have an answer right now but we are going to take a decision with common sense."
Suarez: Bielsa has 'divided' Uruguay national team with tactics and approach
Luis Suarez feels Marcelo Bielsa's coaching style has "divided" Uruguay's national team, as he revealed the negative atmosphere within the camp during the Copa America.
Suarez retired from international duty last month as Uruguay's leading scorer with 69 goals, while his tally of 143 caps is only bettered by Diego Godin (161).
The veteran forward was part of the side that finished third at the Copa America in July; La Celeste's best performance at the tournament since lifting the trophy in 2011.
However, he revealed it was not a happy camp in the United States, where Bielsa's tactics and approach caused friction among the players.
Suarez said some were contemplating their international futures, while he was critical of the treatment of midfielder Agustin Canobbio, who was used as a "sparring partner".
"I will ask the fans not to take it out on the players when things go wrong," the Inter Miami forward told DSports. "Bielsa has divided the whole group because of the way he trains.
"The players will reach a limit, they'll explode. There were even team-mates who said to me they were only playing in the Copa America and nothing else.
"We all know that he doesn't like to deal with leaders or players with experience. I had to keep quiet out of respect for the national team and for the sake of coexistence. I didn't want to be part of the problem.
"A player who is one of the 26 selected for the Copa America can't be made to participate as if he were a 'sparring' partner. It's annoying. I understand Agustin. I'll support him, he's been holding back a lot.
"The staff are not allowed to come in and greet us or eat with us. Many of the players held a meeting to ask the coach to at least say: 'good morning'. He didn't even say hello. It hurts me to see what the national team is going through."
Columbus Crew v Philadelphia Union: Curtin still looking to improve road record
Despite boasting a strong road record this season, Jim Curtin still believes Philadelphia Union can do better in their final away match against Columbus Crew.
The Union lost their most recent road outing, falling 2-1 to Orlando City in midweek, but had only lost one of their previous three such games before that.
They are one of three teams currently on 37 points in the Eastern Conference, but sit 10th, below Toronto FC due to winning fewer games.
Curtin knows they need to win their last two matches and hopes they can improve on Wednesday's performance.
"I think our road record has been good enough this year," Curtin said. "Overall, at this stage of the year, as you know, the margins are razor-thin.
"We have to do a better job in the attacking end and also defending our box because the goals we concede, we could just do a lot better on it.
"Obviously, we'll look at it, try and get ready, regroup, and go against Columbus very quickly."
Meanwhile, Columbus had a four-match unbeaten streak snapped by their 3-2 defeat to Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami.
With three games left, they are looking to secure second in the table to give themselves a stronger playoff position.
Wilfried Nancy was disappointed by the defeat to Miami but hopes they can show their fighting spirit in what he expects to be another tough game.
"We know we're able to compete against top teams, and we showed that against Miami. The next game is going to be another story," he said.
"They may not have [Lionel] Messi, but they have good players. We have no problem with competing, and even with 10 men in the last game, we were still proactive, we were brave and courageous."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi
Diego Rossi scored his 12th goal of the season for the Crew on Wednesday, his fourth MLS season with 12 or more goals.
Only six players in league history have more seasons with 12 or more goals than Rossi.
Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre
Mikael Uhre has four goals and four assists in his last nine MLS appearances, including an assist on the Union’s lone goal on Wednesday.
Uhre has contributed to at least one goal in seven of those nine matches.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus are unbeaten in 10 straight home matches against the Union in all competitions (W6 D4), including a 3-1 win in the Leagues Cup semifinals on August 21. The Union's last win at Columbus was a 2-1 victory at Historic Crew Stadium in August 2016.
However, Columbus have lost two of their last three regular-season home matches (W1) after losing just one of their previous 24 at Lower.com Field in league play. The Crew have allowed 10 goals over the three games after letting in nine goals in its first 12 home matches this season.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia's defeat to Orlando City on Wednesday was their 13th loss of the campaign to go along with only nine wins. This will be the first time since 2017 that Philadelphia will have more losses than wins over a single regular season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 58%
Draw – 21.8%
Philadelphia Union – 20.2%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
