Unai Emery Reacts to Liverpool’s 2 Controversial Penalties

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Arsenal coach Unai Emery has said he is unwilling to blame referee Michael Oliver  for the two controversial penalties given in the game.

Arsenal were whipped 5-1 by league leaders Liverpool in a match they would love to forget and they were penalized with two penalties.

The first was when Sokratis felled Mo Salah in the box and while replays showed that it might have been soft, it was still given.

The second was in the second half when defender Kolasinac barged into Dejan Lovren and he was duly penalized.

Kolasinac has made similar tackles in other games, but this time it went against him.

READ: How Klopp Lifted Liverpool Out of Depression

While Emery is upset at losing the game, he refuses to blame the referee for making the call.

“The two last goals, two penalties, I think it’s a lot for us,” Emery told reporters. “I think VAR is important – it’s coming next year, because I think it’s going to help the referees to take better decisions.

“The result is clear. It’s not [because of] the referee. There were some positives on the pitch – for example, Ainsley [Maitland-Niles] played as right winger and scored, working well.

“Also [Alex] Iwobi, after some matches not playing very well, today he played 90 minutes with a good performance, but defensively we need to be stronger, to work.

“Our defensive moments in our box, it’s my responsibility and then we need the balance. We need to keep the balance in the middle.

“We lost 5-1, we need to keep the balance in the middle, be serious and continue on Tuesday with a big match at the Emirates.

“We need to show our supporters there we are standing up after the result.”

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