Wow: Footage exposes how VAR made costly error in Arsenal draw – opinion
There is a possibility that Referee Simon Hooper and his VAR team overlooked a potential foul on Gabriel Jesus towards the end of the most recent Arsenal match, indicating a significant error on their part.
Arsenal’s pursuit of success in the Premier League was met with another setback, as they had to settle for their third consecutive draw in their latest match.
Previously, they had only been able to secure one point each against Liverpool and West Ham United, and they repeated this outcome against Southampton. Unlike their previous matches where they went ahead by two goals, they fell behind by two this time and had to fight back to get a 3-3 draw.
Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka’s two late goals saved the day for the team. During the match, Arsenal’s captain managed to score in the 88th minute, and two minutes later, Southampton conceded again.
In the dying moments of the game, Gabriel Jesus had a chance to score, but he was tackled inside the penalty box by a clumsy opposition player, as seen in a video shared on Twitter.
kevin de bruyne gets a penalty here 9 times out of 10 pic.twitter.com/fjyZKeH9FY
— 🅰️lex (@afcalex01) April 21, 2023
Was it a penalty on Jesus for Arsenal?
Upon reviewing the footage, it appears that Gabriel Jesus was unable to take his shot and was brought down without the opponent winning the ball clearly.
This decision could have been a penalty, and if the referee had given it, VAR would have been unlikely to overturn it.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, the referee did not award a penalty, and VAR did not consider it a significant enough error to intervene.
Southampton was able to clear the ball and secure a point. This could be a costly outcome for Arsenal, as they were unable to extend their lead at the top of the table as much as they had anticipated.
Arsenal’s next game is an away match against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, with a five-point lead over Pep Guardiola’s team, despite having played two more games.
It’s a crucial game for Mikel Arteta and his team, and if they want to have any chance of winning the Premier League title in May, they will likely need to secure an away win on Wednesday night.
While they may hope for better luck with the officials in Manchester, the team will also need to improve their overall performance significantly.
Wow: Footage exposes how VAR made costly error in Arsenal draw – opinion