Mikel Arteta was right to rant but Arsenal boss has his own problems VAR and PGMOL cannot fix

Mikel Arteta has a lot to be angry about. As he walked into his press conference after Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, he almost seemed too incandescent to pick what had upset him the most.

«It's not a goal for many reasons,» the Spaniard said. «It’s not a goal, for more than one reason at least. It’s not a goal and it's too much at stake here. We put in so much effort, it’s so difficult to compete at this level, and it's an absolute disgrace.

»Again, I feel embarrassed having more than 20 years in this country, and this is nowhere near the level to describe this as the best league in the world. I am sorry."

He is spot on. It's tedious, but let's go through every reason why the goal shouldn't stand...

Firstly the ball looks out of play. As Joe Willock goes over to retrieve Jacob Murphy's wayward cross, the only angle available to VAR Andy Madley seems at the time seems to suggest this. But having seen the Japan goal against Spain in the World Cup, we all know how misleading first appearances can be. What was needed was a bird's eye view angle over the top of the ball. So where was it?

How, with 30 cameras in the stadium, was there no definitive shot to determine something as basic as whether or not the ball has gone out. And while we're on the subject, why are we even leaving something as objective as this up to human error? Why is there only hawkeye technology on the goal line, but not on any other parameter of the pitch. It's black and white. The ball is out or in. Take the subjectivity away from it!

You almost sympathise with Madley in this instance, because he can't definitively say the ball is out, so he can't rule out the goal. He's been left exposed and underequipped to make a decision that could have seismic