Arsenal have tasted their first defeat in the Premier League this season. Manchester United put an end to Arsenal’s winning streak by defeating them 3-1 at Old Trafford last Sunday. However, like most of the League matches this season, the match was riddled with controversy. The main controversy was the disallowed first goal for Arsenal scored by Martinelli. The goal by Martinelli, assisted by Saka was ruled out due to a foul in the build-up of play.
Arsenal thought they had the lead when Saka’s beautiful through ball found the back of the net courtesy of Martinelli. However, the celebrations were short-lived as a VAR check was initiated by the match officials. Paul Tierney, the referee, was asked to check the VAR screen for a foul in the build-up of play. Upon the completion of the check, the Arsenal goal was disallowed. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed the details of the conversation that he had with the match official after the match. Arteta said:
“The referee said it was a really soft decision – we just ask for consistency, today we disallowed the goal again, there is nothing we can unfortunately now.”
Arsenal captain calls out the inconsistencies in refereeing decisions
The referees in the Premier League have made some atrocious decisions lately. The decisions seem to lack coherence and consistency. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard spoke up on the inconsistent refereeing decisions of the referees. He said:
“I think the referee also sees it and he says play on. It’s a soft challenge and you know for VAR to come in it needs to be clear and obvious, they said it a lot of times and for me it is very, very soft. In the camera you can always make it a little bit worse, but for me it was never a foul. The referee said play on he saw it on the pitch it’s very frustrating.”
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