Arsenal left fuming after damaging Brentford draw
Arsenal was furious that Christian Norgaard avoided a red card in a 1-1 draw with Brentford, with Gabriel Martinelli saying the midfielder's tackle could have broken his leg.
Yoane Wissa's clever finish cancelled out Thomas Partey's opener at Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal produced a flat performance four days on from its 3-0 UEFA Champions League rout of Real Madrid.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was in disbelief midway through the first half when referee Simon Hooper only booked Norgaard for a reckless challenge on Martinelli.
Chasing after the Brazilian, Norgaard jumped into a tackle with a scissor-like motion and got nowhere near the ball, leaving Martinelli writhing around in pain.
While the incident was checked and cleared by the video assistant referee, Martinelli could not believe Norgaard stayed on the pitch.
"I didn't see it again, but my opinion in the moment was that if my foot was on the floor, we could have broken my leg," he said.
"He didn't mean it. I believe him, but he could have broken my leg. I need to see it again, but for me, it was a red."
Asked about Norgaard's challenge in his post-match press conference, Arteta said: "I think my reaction said it all."
Arsenal's second Premier League draw in the space of a week leaves Liverpool needing a maximum of nine more points to wrap up the title.
Liverpool has four matches to play before welcoming Arsenal to Anfield on 12 May (AEST), increasing the chances of the Gunners having to give their rivals a guard of honour.
Asked if the title was out of reach, Arteta, who had previously refused to concede the race is over, said: "I don't know, the atmosphere was different to Tuesday, that's for sure.
"I don't know if it [the Champions League] was in the backs of the minds of the crowd. For us as professionals, we know the importance of focusing.
"Today, what we wanted to do was increase the probability of us really challenging for what we are looking for in the Premier League. With that result, it's more unlikely to happen."
Brentford, meanwhile, climbed one place in the table to 11th. It is five points behind Fulham in eighth, a position that will likely be enough for UEFA Europa Conference League qualification.
Bees boss Thomas Frank suggested a European charge could still be a reality for Brentford with six games remaining.
"Of course, it is a very good point against a very good Arsenal team that beat Real Madrid four days ago," Frank said.
"Fighting back to get to 1-1 shows the character in our team. I would have loved us to create more, but they also defended very well.
"We would love to compete for Europe and aim for as high as possible in many ways. That is what we are fighting for every single year and game.
"We are never celebrating a point, but it is a very good point. We will keep pushing."
