Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has explained the incorrect decision to award Arsenal a corner against Tottenham in a controversial moment in the North London Derby.
The Gunners ran out 2-1 winners over their old rivals, picking up all three points in a difficult clash at the Emirates Stadium.
While there is no doubt that Arsenal deserved to win, there are questions over the decision leading to the equaliser in the match.
The home side were handed a corner when the ball appeared to strike Leandro Trossard, which should’ve resulted in a goal kick.
Instead, the set-piece was swung in and Arsenal managed to draw level from it, with Tottenham fans fuming at the referee call.
It’s a discussion that has brewed on and led to some clear explanations on why it couldn’t have been ruled out by VAR.
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Dermot Gallagher gives verdict on referee error in Arsenal vs Tottenham
With Tottenham raging over the decision, former referee Dermot Gallagher has explained some of the thinking behind the call that went Arsenal’s way in the North London Derby.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “I think this is a real shame because this is all about consequence.
“The referee makes a decision where he is on the field, he doesn’t see it straight, Trossard does get the last touch there’s no doubt about that and it should be a goal kick.
“Corner kick comes across, if it goes out of play we don’t talk about it but it goes in the net. So suddenly consequences ramped up.”
It shows the huge slice of luck Arsenal were afforded, though they duly took advantage of the set-piece opportunity.
Some questioned if VAR could get involved, but Gallagher cleared up why the technology has no call on the decision.
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“VAR can’t award anything other than red cards, penalties, goals, mistaken identity. It can’t do restarts, so it’s out of their remit at the moment, whether that will come in years to come, I don’t know.”
Arsenal will be glad in this instance that VAR couldn’t intervene, though whether they will feel that way if it goes against them in the future is unlikely.
Arsenal referee error shouldn’t have been a talking point
The error from the referee certainly helped Arsenal get on their way, though it was their own set-piece mastery that really took advantage of it, rather than the call itself.
The reality is, though, that the mistake would’ve been much less of a talking point if the Gunners could’ve put the game out of sight.
Arsenal had plenty of chances to score and could’ve bagged many more than the two that they did on the night – something of a familiar tale as of late.
With just one goal separating the two sides in the end, the error was always going to have more weight in the discussion.
However, if the team scored the three, four, five or even six goals that they could’ve, perhaps it wouldn’t be such a big talking point.
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