The Arsenal boss felt his side should have had a penalty in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland
Mikel Merino of Arsenal and Daniel Ballard of Sunderland compete for a header
Mikel Merino of Arsenal and Daniel Ballard of Sunderland compete for a header
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The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has unanimously voted that referee Craig Pawson was right not to award a penalty to Arsenal against Sunderland earlier this month.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta felt the his side should have had a spot-kick after Black Cats defender Dan Ballard appeared to catch Mikel Merino with his elbow in the 2-2 draw.
The incident was ruled as accidental at the time and no action was taken.
Sunderland had taken the lead through Ballard before Arsenal hit back thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard.
However, Regis Le Bris' men earned a late point thanks to Brian Brobbey's injury-time goal, which left Arteta frustrated on the touchline.
However, almost two weeks on, the KMI panel, which reviews the big refereeing decisions each week, has ruled that Pawson and the VAR officials got the verdict right.
The five-member panel voted 5-0 in favour, saying: "The on-field call of no penalty was supported, with Ballard deemed to not commit a foul as any contact was a result of an expected footballing action in challenging an opponent for the ball."
It was a view that had already been put forward by former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher.
Speaking in his Ref Watch segment for Sky Sports, he said: "VAR looked at it. I don't think it's a foul.
"His used his arms for leverage. If anything, Merino comes into him. There's a clash but there's clashes all the time in football. It's strong defending."
Sunderland will look to continue their excellent Premier League form this weekend when they travel to London to face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday (3pm).
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