PGMOL hypocrisy clear for all to see after incidents involving Igor Tudor and Mikel Arteta
Tottenham boss Igor Tudor and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta appear to have fallen afoul of the PGMOL’s rules during the North London derby.
Tottenham headed into Sunday’s encounter in dire need of a victory after slipping just four points above the Premier League’s relegation zone.
Former Spurs target Eberechi Eze gave the visitors the lead on Sunday afternoon, only for Randal Kolo Muani to equalise shortly after.
Viktor Gyokeres restored Arsenal’s lead just after half time, before ex-Crystal Palace star Eze then gave the Gunners a two-goal cushion.
And during the contest, both managers were, according to journalist Alasdair Gold, guilty of going out of their technical areas, which is against the rules. But only one, Arteta, got a talking to.
Tottenham lose again as Mikel Arteta gets off scot-free
Arteta has developed a reputation for going well outside his technical area during Arsenal games. However, the Spaniard rarely gets called out on it.
So the fact that Tudor was told off for doing it at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in his first game in charge may lead to some calling out the PGMOL’s hypocrisy.
“Igor Tudor getting told off by the fourth official for frequently stepping forward out of his technical area. Mikel Arteta doing the same thing on the other side though,” Gold posted on X.
Aside from that, Tottenham have now lost five of their last seven league matches. The result keeps them down in 16th, two points ahead of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, with 18th-placed West Ham two points further back.
After this damaging defeat, which bolstered Arsenal’s hopes of claiming their first league title since 2004, Tottenham will hope to bounce back away at Fulham next Sunday.
They then have another all London affair when they host fellow strugglers Crystal Palace four days later. If Spurs don’t pick up any points in this stretch, they could be in huge relegation trouble.
Arsenal thumping highlights how much work there is to do
In the 94th minute, Gyokeres added his second and Arsenal’s fourth to make it 4-1, a repeat of the scoreline at Emirates Stadium earlier this season.
Last term, the Gunners came away with no trophies, whereas Tottenham lifted the Europa League trophy to end their 17-year wait for silverware.
Fast forward to the present, and Tottenham have since sacked Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank, with Tudor now at the reins until the end of the season.
| Tottenham’s winless Premier League run | Date |
| Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal (Igor Tudor’s first game in charge) | 22 February |
| Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle (Thomas Frank then sacked) | 10 February |
| Man Utd 2-0 Tottenham | 7 February |
| Tottenham 2-2 Man City | 1 February |
| Burnley 2-2 Tottenham | 24 January |
| Tottenham 1-2 West Ham | 17 January |
| Bournemouth 3-2 Tottenham | 7 January |
| Tottenham 1-1 Sunderland | 4 January |
| Brentford 0-0 Tottenham | 1 January |
While Tottenham still have a slight cushion to the bottom three, they are going nowhere, fast. Whereas West Ham, for instance, have chalked up three wins and two draws in their last six games.
If they are not careful, Tottenham could drop into the relegation zone in a matter of weeks.
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