Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori has opened up on what he and William Saliba said about the controversial penalty incident against Brighton.

The Gunners were forced to settle for a point with the 1-1 draw against the Seagulls on Saturday evening. Ethan Nwaneri had opened the scoring for Arsenal before Joao Pedro equalised for the hosts from the penalty spot at the Amex Stadium to see the points shared.

Brighton were awarded a spot-kick after a clash of heads between Saliba and Pedro in the Arsenal penalty area. Mikel Arteta later explained why he was surprised by the decision from referee Anthony Taylor, which was confirmed on VAR by Darren England.

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Calafiori has admitted that he did not have the best view of the incident, which led to Arsenal dropping points against Brighton. The Italy international went on to reveal what Salbia said to him when he asked about the collision with Pedro.

"I couldn't see it to be honest," Calafiori told football.london. "In the moment, he [Saliba] said he touched the ball I think before, but as I say I never saw it."

The draw for Arsenal left them five points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table, who had two games in hand going into their clash against Manchester United on Sunday. The Gunners will now take a break from top-flight action, as they take on Newcastle United in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Arteta was asked about the penalty incident following the full-time whistle at the Amex Stadium. The Arsenal boss admitted his surprise over the decision and the conversation he had about the call with his squad.

"Well, I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career, I asked the boys if they have, and no one has seen this before," Arteta told reporters on Saturday.

"When you look at the incident, the player, Joao [Pedro] touching the ball then [William] Saliba touching the ball, you can see contact there?"