Arteta aggrieved over ´offside´ Toney equaliser

Mikel Arteta revealed Arsenal had lodged a complaint over an Ivan Toney equaliser they felt should have been ruled out in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Brentford on Saturday.

Arsenal missed a chance to go eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table as they were held by the in-form Bees in a London derby at Emirates Stadium.

January signing Leandro Trossard came off the bench to opening the scoring with his first goal for the club in the second half, but Toney denied the leaders with a header after 74 minutes.

There was a long VAR check before Toney’s goal was finally allowed to stand, with Ethan Pinnock appearing to be standing in offside position as a free-kick was delivered.

Striker Toney nodded in from close range after the Gunners failed to deal with the set-piece, but Arsenal manager Arteta does not believe the Bees striker’s 15th goal of the season should have been given.

The Spaniard said: “I’ve just looked at it back and it is offside. We will probably get an explanation later on in the week, but today we haven’t got that. It’s too late – it’s fine, it’s a goal. It’s irrelevant.”

Asked if they had made their feelings clear to the Premier League, he replied: “Yes, we did at the end of the game with them, and we said our views.”

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Toney hit the crossbar in the first half and Brentford were good value fo a point that extended their winning run to 10 top-flight games.

Arsenal are six points clear of City, who face Aston Villa on Sunday before a mouthwatering battle between the top two next Wednesday, and Arteta praised his players despite not being at their best again following a defeat at Everton last weekend.

He added: “I think it as a really strong performance. I think it’s a really tricky team to play against. It is frustrating, but this is the Premier League.

“I’m delighted with how the boys tried, how much they want it. The reaction when they drop two points, they’re in a great place.”