"I felt a touch but I don’t know the rules" - Arsenal forward makes salty claim after being denied a penalty in 1-0 Aston Villa defeat 

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus insisted that he was touched inside the box by Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz but accepted the referee's decision to not hand the Gunners a penalty.

The incident in question occurred in the first half when Luiz seemed to trip fellow Brazilian Jesus, but the contact was deemed not enough to give a spot-kick.

Mikel Arteta's side succumbed to the second defeat of their Premier League campaign, losing 1-0 to high-flying Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday night, December 9.

Following the win, Aston Villa find themselves third in the table (35), just a point behind Arsenal (36) and two behind league leaders Liverpool (37).

Jesus said (via Premier League Productions) after the game:

"I felt a touch but I don’t know the rules so probably for them it’s no penalty."

"I cant do nothing, I felt someone touch me and anyway it’s their decision," he added.

Arsenal had another opportunity chalked off by VAR when it was deemed that Kai Havertz had handled the ball before his 92nd-minute equalizer.

"I don’t know if the goal is clear handball. We don’t know we just have to accept it and focus to go again next game and then maybe we can have some better decisions," Jesus said on the matter.

Arteta's side could have overtaken Liverpool to go to the top of the table with a win over Villa but now find themselves a point behind the Reds. The north London side will next face PSV Eindhoven in their final Champions League group-stage fixture on Tuesday, December 12.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, currently enjoy a five-point lead over fourth-placed Manchester City, who face Luton Town on Sunday, December 10. They will next face Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar in their last group-stage Conference League fixture on Thursday, December 14.

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Mikel Arteta provides blunt reply on VAR controversy after Arsenal loss to Aston Villa

Arteta insisted that his side deserved more from the game.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave a simple reply when asked about the controversial VAR decisions in his side's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

Referring to a disallowed Kai Havertz goal and a penalty not given for a foul on Gabriel Jesus, he said:

"Clear and obvious."

When asked to elaborate, he doubled down, saying:

"No, no. Clear and obvious. That’s what I mean."

Jesus was clipped in the box by Douglas Luiz in the first half but VAR did not give a penalty, with the contact deemed to be minimal. Havertz's goal in the 92nd minute was also ruled out, with VAR deeming that the ball had struck the German international's hand before going in.

Arsenal went down 1-0 early in the game to a John McGinn goal in the seventh minute. The Gunners went on to dominate the remainder of the contest but were unable to break Villa's resolute defense.