Pundit Jamie Carragher has shared his thoughts on Everton receiving a penalty against Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday. He believes that it wasn’t a penalty and VAR should’ve overturned the referee’s decision.
The Gunners faced Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the 34th minute for the visitors. However, in the 48th minute, Myles Lewis-Skelly was deemed to have fouled Jack Harrison in the box. Referee Darren England pointed to the spot and VAR upheld the decision.
In his post-match press conference, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was convinced that it wasn’t a penalty. Jamie Carragher agrees with the Spaniard, as he said on Sky Sports (via TBR Football):
“If it was a penalty, it was very, very soft and I’m with Mikel Arteta, I don’t think it was a penalty. When I first saw it, I thought it was a penalty. I could understand the referee giving it in some ways because it was a bit of a mess from Arsenal. I think the centre-back, Kiwior leaves the ball, Lewis-Skelly gets himself caught with Harrison, it looks like a bit of a tangle.”
“So, I can understand the referee giving it but then when you look at it, it looked really, really soft and in some ways, that decision or those type of decisions are almost what’s wrong with VAR. You look at it and you say, that’s not a penalty.”
Carragher also shared his thoughts on what VAR should’ve done, saying:
“But it’s not an absolute howler and then VAR don’t get involved and really, it’s just not a penalty. And that’s where sometimes I’d like VAR just to say, it’s not about the referee making a horrendous decision, it’s not a penalty, you make that decision and you move on.”
Iliman Ndiaye converted the penalty in the 49th minute, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw, further denting Arsenal’s hopes of a Premier League title.
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The Gunners came into the Everton clash on the back of a 2-1 win over Fulham at home on April 1. While that game saw the return of Bukayo Saka from injury, they lost Gabriel Magalhaes for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring tear.
Regardless, Arsenal started well at Goodison Park and dominated the entire game. They had 71% possession and made 14 attempts on goal with five being on target. Everton, meanwhile, had five total attempts with two being on target. However, it ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Gunners are second in the Premier League standings, 11 points behind Liverpool. However, the Reds can extend that lead to 14 points if they beat Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday. With just seven games remaining after that, it will take a major collapse for the Merseysiders to miss out on winning the title.
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Edited by Aditya Singh
