Despite the drama of the late Reiss Nelson winner against Bournemouth, Arsenal might have perhaps felt somewhat aggrieved with the penalty calls not given in the game had the Hale End graduate not popped up with the winner in stoppage time. There were as many as four penalty calls in the game and even Phillip Billing’s rapid opener faced scrutiny.
Pictures showed several Bournemouth players standing in the Arsenal half as the match kicked off and less than ten seconds later the ball had beaten Aaron Ramsdale. The goal completely changed the outset of the match and game plans prepared for days in advance went out the window as the Gunners scrambled to find a response that wouldn’t come until deep into the second period and after a second goal from the visitors.
The four penalty calls divided supporters, however. Sky Sports’ Monday lunchtime show ref watch delved into a couple of the calls with former referee Dermot Gallagher.
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Gallagher was convinced that the call on Chris Mepham was not a penalty. Dropping down from a height the Bournemouth defender misjudged his jump and the ball landed at the top of his arm which was just high enough to avoid the penalty being given.
“Yeah I think too high up when you’re looking at it, and maybe he gets lucky because his arms are out but I think it does hit the top of his arm.” Adding, “Not the best way to jump in the modern game isn’t it? Because whether you like it or not, arms out, massive risk.”
Whilst there was far less debate regarding this decision, the Marcos Sensi on Takehiro Tomiyasu call was much more contentious. The Argentine defender looked as though he kicked through Tomiyasu but Gallagher believes that only the on-field referee can make the call whether or not it was a penalty-worthy incident, which in this case Chris Kavanagh said ‘no’.
“It’s one of them where you go with the referee because there’s so much doubt with who gets that ball first," added Gallagher.
When asked whether Senesi kicks through the Arsenal man he replied, “Well, if he gets the ball he doesn’t, whether Tomiyasu catches him, but I would suggest the only way you’re going to get a penalty there is on-field.”
There was only one camera angle shown of the Tomiyasu incident and VAR very quickly checked it. It does beg the question, as Gallagher highlights how difficult it is to determine who got the ball, why more time wasn’t allocated to check multiple camera angles.
Regarding Martin Odegaard’s strike which hit Senesi’s arm, again VAR said no. Gallagher again agreed.
"Senesi would have been very unlucky, wouldn't he? If you look at this, his arms are tucked in and his elbow is low down and close to his body.”
On Phillip Billing’s late handball call again Gallagher agreed with the on-field decision. Although he did admit that the handball rule in its current state is not simple to decipher.
"Does he handle it high? Does it hit him? It's difficult to see and the referee has the best view and he says no. VAR looked and said no, so you have to accept that. But it's not the easiest rule to apply."
Ultimately it didn’t matter in the end because the Gunners won. However, weeks after Mikel Arteta received an apology from the PGMOL for the failure to rule Brentford’s equaliser offside, there remains persistent scrutiny around decisions that many Gunners fans feel have gone against them.
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