Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt expressed his frustration over a non-penalty decision as his side were beaten 5-1 by Arsenal in the Carabao Cup third round.
Despite the heavy scoreline, Evatt believed the match could have been more competitive if Bolton had received a penalty early in the first half, when Josh Sheehan appeared to be bundled over in the box by Gabriel Jesus.
It was clumsy from the Arsenal man, for sure, but there was no definitive angle, at least on TV, to show it was certainly a penalty. Evatt did not explain why not getting the penalty meant Bolton only had four shots to Arsenal’s 21 throughout the game.
The incident occurred when the score was still 0-0, and Evatt was adamant that the referee should have awarded the spot-kick, stating, “I thought we should have had a penalty for sure.” He added, “Whether that would have made them angry or not I don’t know, but also they didn’t create a great deal in the first half, and the two real chances they had they scored both.”
Arsenal had 12 shots in the first half, nine of which came from inside the box.
Bolton’s chances were further diminished by what Evatt described as “self-inflicted wounds,” with two or three of Arsenal’s goals coming as a result of mistakes by his players. “Mikel Arteta’s side,” he said, “are more than capable of scoring fantastic goals, but we needed to make them work harder for it. A couple of the goals we conceded were self-inflicted, which is disappointing.” That’s hard to disagree with as Declan Rice in particular took advantage and showed the gulf in quality between the two sides.
Despite the heavy defeat, Evatt praised the efforts of his players, who faced a blended Arsenal team in front of nearly 60,000 fans at the Emirates Stadium. “It’s probably as tough as it gets. Certainly, in this country, it’s as tough a game as you can have,” he said. “It’s hard to criticise the players because they’ve absolutely run their socks off, and you need to against that team.”
Bolton did give their travelling supporters—over 4,000 strong—something to cheer about when Aaron Collins struck in the second half to make it 3-1, offering a glimmer of hope. However, Arsenal responded with further goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz to kill off any chance of a comeback.
Reflecting on the game, Evatt remarked, “I thought 5-1 was probably harsh. I thought it was a tighter game than that at times, but this is as tough as it gets, and there’s a huge gap between us and where they are right now.”
He also pointed out missed opportunities, mentioning that “Scotty didn’t hit the target and Macca didn’t hit the target, and they are the fine margins against the best. If you don’t score, you get punished.”
Looking ahead, Evatt urged his team to quickly shift their focus to their upcoming League One fixture against Crawley Town. “It was largely an enjoyable experience, but I’ve said to the players it’s gone, it’s finished. We have to now focus on Saturday and getting a result at Crawley,” he told Wanderers TV. “We earned this cup tie, it was great for the club and great for the fans, but now it’s time to move on.”
