06 November 2023 , 09:40
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Angry Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has found an unlikely ally in his spat with the PGMOL in Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.
Arteta launched a furious rant after seeing his side lose to the Magpies on Saturday, courtesy of a controversial winner by Anthony Gordon. The goal was extensively looked at by VAR before being awarded, but Arteta was left in disbelief that it had passed the checks.
The Spaniard blasted referee Stuart Attwell and his team after the game, while Arsenal released an extraordinary statement on Sunday demanding an "urgent" improvement in the standard of the Premier League's match officials.
While Shearer did not agree with the language used by Arteta or the Gunners in their protestations, he did admit that refereeing standards need to improve. The Premier League's record scorer believes that the match officials are letting down the English top-flight.
"I can't agree with what was said or the statement. But having said that, and Howard Webb will never say this, but I reckon and certainly my opinion is, that we've got the best football, the best stadiums, the best managers, the best coaches, the best atmospheres," Shearer told The Rest Is Football podcast.
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"We've got the best of everything in our country, but we haven't got the best referees. Unfortunately, this pool of referees that we have at this moment in time, I just think that they're not good enough.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Anthony Gordon's goal have stood? Comment below.
Alan Shearer joined Mikel Arteta in criticising the performance of Stuart Attwell (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)"It's a difficult job I know and I understand all of that and they're in a no-win situation at times. But I don't think they're a good pool of referees and I think they're worse now because of VAR than they've ever been.
"I know Howard's trying his best with communication and everything else. But there's been so many mistakes, clear mistakes, which they've admitted to. It was a poor day for the referee, but I don't understand the hate towards the goal, because there was nothing clear and obvious."
While Shearer was somewhat on his side, England legend Gary Lineker dismissed Arteta's arguments. Lineker insisted that standards among foreign referees are no different to those in England.
"On that, I would say I think a lot of countries would say the same thing. I think you can get a little bit clouded in terms of judging referees of how good they are in each country," Lineker told the podcast.
"Generally when we see foreign referees, it's in a Champions League game or a World Cup match or a big qualifier. But they will be the best referees from each country, so you perhaps think they're better in Germany, but that's probably their best referee.
"I'm sure once you get down, have they got a pool of 20 or 30? I have to say though from a referee's perspective, it's a thankless task, it really is."