Arsenal were held to a draw by Brentford in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Thomas Partey gave the Gunners the lead, side-footing home neatly after Declan Rice strode forward with the ball from his own defensive third.
However, as the game grew more stretched, Brentford found an equaliser courtesy of a smart finish from Yoane Wissa.
The result leaves the Gunners ten points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta was furious with Christian Norgaard’s tackle on Gabriel Martinelli in Arsenal v Brentford
Kieran Tierney had a goal ruled out in the first half for offside, with the decision made by the Premier League’s brand-new semi-automated offside technology.
However, this was far from the most contentious decision made in the clash with the Bees, with referee Simon Hooper not sending Christian Norgaard off for a late challenge on Gabriel Martinelli.
With the game poised at 0-0, Martinelli ran down the left-wing and was recklessly tackled by Norgaard, who performed a scissor action on the Brazilian.
The Dane was merely booked, and Mikel Arteta was left furious with the Brentford midfielder and Hooper’s decision.
The Arsenal boss complained about the decision to the fourth official on the sidelines, after having made his feelings known about the call by shouting across the pitch following the tackle.
Arsenal fans think Norgaard should’ve been sent off for Brentford
Arteta wasn’t the only one who was unhappy with the decision, with the Arsenal fanbase taking to social media to express their displeasure at Hooper’s call.
One fan wrote on X: “Just seen this still – it’s a stone-cold red card. Martinelli is so lucky to avoid major injury here, good grief man.”
Another added: “It’s incidents like these where VAR must intervene and recommend a pitchside review to the ref, if they deem the challenge to be dangerous; in which case this was.”
Meanwhile, another supporter responded to an image of the foul, writing: “This isn’t even the worst part of the foul. Norgaard’s right foot is so high and connects with Martinelli’s knee/calf before he scissors him. There’s an even worse screenshot that should be doing the rounds.”
Another fan wrote: “Very dangerous indeed. We can’t know if there was intent to hurt the opponent, but surely we can classify this one as reckless?”
The incident was yet another example of VAR failing to intervene with violent conduct, something that has become a serial theme in Howard Webb’s tenure as head of the PGMOL.
The former referee has to eradicate this next season, otherwise more players are going to suffer serious injuries.
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