Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale blames referee for Tottenham debacle

The Gunners were feeling sorry for themselves after the humbling defeat, bemoaning a penalty decision given against them and Rob Holding being shown two yellow cards in the first half.

While the penalty given against Cedric Soares for a shove on Son Heung-Min may have been seen as soft, it was certainly a foul, and Holding’s two yellow cards also appeared fair enough.

However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was fuming about the decisions after the match and his goalkeeper also disagreed with how Tierney saw things.

‘Yeah, it’s obviously not what we came here for,’ Ramsdale told Arsenal Media at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

‘We came here for three points, personally, decisions went against us tonight.

‘I’ve not seen replays, we’re an honest bunch of lads, so when we see the replays and if it is a penalty and it is a sending off, we’ll be the first to admit it, but on first glance, I feel like the big decisions went against us and then it’s an uphill battle from there.’

Harry Kane converted the spot-kick after 22 minutes and Holding was sent-off 11 minutes later before the England captained doubled the lead shortly after.

‘It was a short space of time and we’ve gone from looking comfortable in the game at 0-0 to 2-0 down and then it’s a lottery,’ said Ramsdale.

‘If you get the next goal, the crowd can get a bit nervous and we could be back in the game, and unfortunately, we conceded just after half time and that’s game over.’

The Arsenal camp seemed united in their disbelief over the referee’s decisions, with Arteta admitting he could not air his true feeling or he would face punishment.

‘If I say what I think I’m suspended six months, so I cannot say,’ Arteta told Sky Sports. I’m allowed to give my interpretation of what happened in the game but I don’t know how to lie, I don’t like lying so I prefer not to say what I think. I cannot say what I think, I’ll be suspended.’

Asked if he was unhappy with his players, he said: ‘With my players, no [not unhappy]. I’m so proud of my players.

‘Ask the referee to come in front of the camera and explain his decisions. They’re his decisions.

‘It’s a shame because a beautiful game was destroyed today.’

MORE : ‘Mikel Arteta will be slaughtering Rob Holding,’ says Robbie Keane after Arsenal loss

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