Ivan Toney’s controversial equaliser in Brentford’s draw at Arsenal was not fully investigated by the video assistant referee, the PA news agency understands.
The Bees left the Emirates Stadium with a 1-1 draw after Toney headed in from close range to cancel out Leandro Trossard’s opener for the Premier League leaders.
The two dropped points could prove costly for the Gunners as they look to keep reigning champions and nearest challengers Manchester City at bay – with Pep Guardiola’s side the visitors to the Emirates on Wednesday night.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta fumed over the decision to allow Toney’s goal, which went to VAR.
PA understands a block from Ethan Pinnock on Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes as Mathias Jensen swung a free-kick into the box was checked and cleared.
But it is understood VAR Lee Mason did not fully investigate an offside call against Christian Norgaard, who provided the assist for Toney’s leveller, with no lines drawn on the screen to determine whether the Denmark international should have been penalised.
PA has approached the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) group responsible for referees for further comment.
Mason was stood down from VAR duties for a round of Premier League fixtures in September after his error saw Newcastle have a goal disallowed against Crystal Palace – he will discover if he faces a similar fate when the official appointments for next weekend’s games are announced on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s a tough one to take when they scored the equaliser,” Trossard – who came off the bench to open the scoring with his first Arsenal goal – told the club’s official website.
“I think overall we played well. In the first half they had some chances but in the second half we came more into the game, and obviously we scored that goal.
“It’s always a missed opportunity I think if you were leading, especially as we knew what they wanted to do. We know their game plan, that they were strong on set-pieces and that’s how we conceded the goal.
“Overall we have to lift our heads up and there is a game on Wednesday, and luckily it’s quite soon and we can go at it again.”
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank admitted he thought their equaliser was going to be chalked off but felt his side were more than deserving of the result – which extends their unbeaten league run to 10 games.
Norgaard echoed the sentiments of his manager and was pleased to chip in with an assist – albeit a disputable one.
“We always find it difficult to celebrate a point but I think coming here, at this venue, in the form that Arsenal are in, fighting for the title in the Premier League, I think it’s very impressive,” he said.
It was nice to get an assist, even though it was close to being offside— Christian Norgaard
“The way we went forward, the transitions, the way we took our chances from set-pieces – scoring from another set-piece – it really shows that our qualities are getting better, especially in that area.
“After the World Cup, I’ve been involved in quite a lot of these second balls and I’ve had a couple of assists now.
“It’s something that I’ve been focusing on quite a lot, trying to be involved as much as I can on the second balls, so it was nice to get an assist, even though it was close to being offside!”
