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ARSENAL clinched a controversial victory over West Ham, influenced by several questionable VAR rulings.
The Gunners emerged victorious 5-2 in an electrifying Premier League clash at the London Stadium on Saturday.
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The match between the London rivals featured an exhilarating first half where seven goals were scored, with Arsenal taking a commanding 4-0 lead by the 36th minute through strikes from Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz.
West Ham fought back, netting two quick goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri within a span of just two minutes.
Nevertheless, Arsenal halted West Ham’s momentum with a contentious penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, which Gabriel earned and Bukayo Saka converted.
Mark Halsey, a former Premier League referee and columnist for SunSport, addressed the ongoing controversies in a discussion on Whistleblower.
He began by analyzing Arsenal’s final goal that crushed West Ham’s chances for a comeback.
Saka took a corner from the right, but Gabriel’s header flew well over the crossbar.
Despite this, referee Anthony Taylor ruled that Lukasz Fabianski had made contact with Gabriel’s face while attempting to clear the ball.
Taylor issued a yellow card to Fabianski in front of a bewildered crowd, allowing Saka to score from the penalty spot.
Halsey expressed to SunSport’s Will Pugh, “When a cross comes in, contact between players is inevitable. It’s inherently subjective.
“We’ve seen penalties given in similar instances where a goalkeeper is more involved; however, there tends to be much more contact than we saw this past weekend.
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“Anthony Taylor took a moment to make his decision. VAR is unlikely to overturn that call since there’s been a push from Howard Webb to support on-field choices in subjective matters.
“If the penalty had not been awarded, it would have likely remained unpunished. It seemed like there was a delay of four or five seconds, and it’s possible Gabriel, who was holding his face on the ground, and the other players on the pitch swayed the decision-making.”
“As I noted earlier, if it hadn’t been given, it would have simply stayed that way. The Arsenal players didn’t vigorously appeal, the crowd was muted, and then suddenly, a penalty check occurred for an unforeseen reason, leading to Arsenal’s goal.”
However, Halsey voiced significant disapproval regarding the management of both referee and VAR concerning Arsenal’s opener, in which Saka’s corner reached Gabriel, who netted with an accurate header.
Jurrien Timber was seen pushing Lucas Paqueta, who was at the near post and had a clear chance to clear the ball.
‘I’m surprised’
Timber apparently obstructed Paqueta, hindering his ability to clear.
Halsey commented, “We’re discussing inconsistency in rulings made in situations involving goals. Was it a foul or not?
“In my view, it was a blatant free-kick, and I’m astonished that VAR didn’t recommend a review.”
Halsey also addressed Arsenal’s first penalty, given when Paqueta fouled Saka inside the West Ham box in the 34th minute.
However, the contact appeared to be minimal, and the England international didn’t fall immediately.
Still, the referee’s decision stood, and North London captain Odegaard converted the penalty, increasing their lead to 3-0.
Halsey explained, “When you extend your leg like that, you open yourself up to a possible foul. I believe players should go down right away when tackled.
“There’s no need to take extra steps before falling. If the referee hadn’t made the call, it probably wouldn’t have been given. As I mentioned, it was indeed minor contact, but once the referee made his judgment…
“It seemed like he made a call based on how Paqueta went down. He was cautious in awarding the free-kick.
“We can all see that it wasn’t a foul, and he clearly won the ball. However, in real-time, it may have appeared to be a free-kick.”
