Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been exonerated from a charge by the Football Association (FA) in relation to comments he made after the team's 1-0 loss to Newcastle United last month.

Arteta expressed his frustration over the decision to allow Anthony Gordon's goal, despite three VAR checks for potential infractions such as the ball going out of play, a foul, and an offside in the build-up.

Speaking immediately after the match, Arteta said, "It's a disgrace. It's embarrassing. That's how I feel and that's how everybody feels in that [dressing] room. You cannot imagine the amount of messages we've got saying this cannot continue. It's embarrassing. I'm sorry, it's embarrassing.

Mikel Arteta has avoided a ban for his comments in the aftermath of Arsenal's defeat to Newcastle United. Getty"I feel sick. That's how I feel. I feel sick to be part of this. It is not good enough and we cannot accept that."

Mikel Arteta, charged by the Football Association (FA) under Rule E3.1 for alleged misconduct related to insulting comments towards match officials and actions detrimental to the game, has been found "not proven" by an independent commission. The decision came after an investigation that involved Arteta attending a personal hearing

In the written reasons accompanying the decision, Arteta is described as an "impressive witness" who successfully argued his comments focused on a wider frustration with the VAR process rather than targeting a match official.

It read, "[In the post-match interviews], MA expressed his frustration at the VAR decision and the standard of refereeing and VAR decision-making in the Premier League.

"He did not descend into language which insulted or cast aspersions about particular officials, nor to language which reflected anything other than his reasonably held view, supported by others, that VAR decision-making and officiating standards require improvement.'"

Former Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock, now with Newcastle, reportedly informed his ex-teammates that he thought the ball had exited play in the lead-up to Anthony Gordon's goal. Additionally, it is disclosed that Arteta's use of the term "disgrace" in Spanish carried a different connotation

"The word 'disgrace' used by MA in the Interviews 'has a very similar spelling and pronunciation to the Spanish 'desgracia' … the Spanish word has connotations of misfortune, tragedy or bad luck rather than the connotations of the English equivalent, which suggest contempt, dishonour or disrespect," continued the written reasons.

"While the English meaning may lead to interpretations of abuse or insult, this was not the intended meaning of the comments."

Arteta was also said to have made "considerable efforts that he has made in the past [and continues to make] to work with other stakeholders [including the PGMOL and the Chief Refereeing Officer] in the pursuit of improving the standards of match officiating [including VAR officiating] in the Premier League" and that he had "frustration that such efforts [on his part and by others] had 'failed to produce any meaningful improvements' in those standards."