FA make Mikel Arteta decision after ‘absolute disgrace’ Newcastle United claim

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been granted an extended deadline to respond to his Football Association charge for comments he made after his side’s 1-0 defeat against Newcastle earlier this month.

Arteta has been charged with a breach of FA rule E3.1 and initially had until Tuesday to offer his response. However, the Daily Mail has now revealed that the deadline has been extended until Friday.

The defeat for the Gunners at St James’ Park marked Arsenal’s first defeat in the Premier League this season and could potentially be a blow to his side’s title hopes later in the campaign.

The Gunners boss launched a scathing attack on the referee and VAR officials in his post match press conference and described the decision to award Anthony Gordon’s goal as ‘an absolute disgrace.’

The match-winning strike had a total of three separate VAR checks to judge if the ball was in play, whether a foul had taken place and if Gordon was onside at the time of the goal. All three checks were ultimately adjudged in Newcastle’s favour and the decision has since been praised by ex-Magpies striker Michael Owen and ex-referee Howard Webb.

Arteta’s comments caused a great stir with the media at the time and Gary Neville was very critical of the Spainard’s behaviour - describing it as dangerous. Despite this, Arteta went on to double down on his comments in a post match interview claiming it was his “duty” to give a “clear and honest assessment” of what he thought happened.

Arsenal also defended Arteta for his comments. In a club statement, they said: "The Premier League is the best league in the world with the best players, coaches and supporters, all of whom deserve better. PGMOL urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies. We support the ongoing efforts of Chief Refereeing Officer, Howard Webb and would welcome working together to achieve the world-class officiating standards our league demands."