Journalist reveals 'incensed' Mikel Arteta did something he's never seen after Arsenal beat Sunderland

A BBC journalist and commentator has said he cannot recall anything like Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's post-match interview after his side's 2-0 win over Sunderland.

The Gunners kept up their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 win over the Black Cats at the Stadium of the Light.

Bruno Guimaraes' second half strike and a late Bukayo Saka penalty secured victory, but it was far from smooth sailing as David Raya saved a Sunderland penalty awarded for wrestling in the area - which Arteta was 'incensed' about.

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'Incensed' Arteta fumes over penalty award

On 56 minutes, with the score still at 0-0, Sunderland were given a penalty after Ezri Konsa was deemed to have used too much force in pulling Dan Ballard to the ground.

VAR reviewed the decision but stuck with the original call by referee John Brooks.

The penalty award might have ended up helping Arsenal, as Enzo Le Fee saw his spot kick superbly saved by Raya to drain some of the enthusiasm out of the home crowd before the Gunners went up the other end and scored less than two minutes later.

But while the goal will have at least been consolation for Arsenal, Arteta couldn't hide his fury at the penalty award, describing it as 'completely unacceptable'.

BBC journalist Steven Wyeth was on commentary duty at the Stadium of Light and was taken aback by how, while speaking to Arteta post-match for Match of the Day, the Gunners boss kept calling back to the penalty decision.

"Mikel Arteta so incensed by the penalty given against Arsenal tonight that he didn't want to talk about much else," he wrote on Twitter. "Not sure I've ever previously had a manager keep steering the conversation back to a contentious decision after I've tried to move on... twice."

What did Mikel Arteta say about the Sunderland penalty?

Arteta told the BBC: "I'm very worried, very sad, because this can never be a penalty. Ever.

"It's a judo roll from the opponent. Just watch it. That's why we have a lot of cameras and VAR - we have to take responsibility to protect the game. Today, the game was unprotected, and it could have cost us the game and the momentum, which is a really, really serious thing."

In his post-match media conference, the Spaniard added: "The first question that we have to discuss is, this is not acceptable at this level.

"In my opinion, it's not acceptable. I watch it 20 times, and I can't find a way to understand how they think to give a penalty in that situation, or the VAR has to intervene. So I don't know what to think, really.

"I'm sad that we have to discuss, after such a beautiful game, something that, at this level, which has a gravity of that. Because it can change the course of a season and it can cost you the championship. At this level, with all the work that we put in, this can not happen.

"You see it. It is a judo roll. How can this be a penalty? I cannot find an explanation, honestly. That's why I'm going to try to find an explanation now.

"I have to be here, in front of you guys, and talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. I want to talk about the game, and how good we were and how good Sunderland were, and the level of the league and how beautiful this is.

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"We should never be talking about this, or the [penalty save] of David - which was incredible. We should not even be talking about that."

When asked about Bruno Guimaraes' goal, he laughed: "This one, I watched it 20 times. The penalty, I watched 10. This one, 20."