Laurent Koscielny had his say on Arsenal’s penalty against Burnley, admitting he didn’t see it well in normal time, but feels these incidents will go for and against you over the season.

The French defender was too far away from the incident to see it clearly, but claims that the referees decision must be respected regardless of how correct it was.

“I don’t know. I was so far away. The referee made a decision and we need to respect that,” he told Arsenal.com. “Two weeks ago at Manchester City, I think it was offside and they scored. It’s like this in football. Sometimes they make some mistakes.
“It’s difficult for the ref to see all the action. Today we are happy because we have the three points. In the second half, we played well with the ball, with more movement and combinations with two or three players. You are always happy if you score a late goal, and we have the three points.”

Fortunately for Lee Mason and for Arsenal, the decision was the correct one. Whether it was soft or controversial, a shove in the penalty area is usually grounds for a penalty. Arsenal have been involved in plenty of controversy involving referees as of late.

Arsene Wenger was furious with Michael Oliver after the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, as they scored a dubious penalty and an offside goal. Before that, Watford were given a penalty after a Richarlison dive on their way to a 2-1 win. Against Tottenham, poor officiating worked in our favour as we got the benefit of the doubt on both of our goals.

It’s not a case of decisions evening out over a season. Rather, the referees make mistakes in every game, and whether a team benefits from that or not is down to pure chance.

Awarding Arsenal a penalty against Burnley, though, was not a mistake, no matter how many people complain about it.