Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp says Arsenal’s late goal disallowed for Gabriel Martinelli offside is “the biggest VAR decision of the season so far”.
With the score at 1–1, Bukayo Saka celebrated wildly when he scored with a header from Martinelli’s cross in the 88th minute – but a VAR review showed that the latter was offside in the build-up and the goal was ruled out.
The game at Craven Cottage ended in a draw, with Arsenal missing a huge chance to move four points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table. The Reds’ game against Everton on Saturday was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Discussing the late drama and its impact on the title race, Redknapp explained super sundae: “What a weekend for Liverpool. Man City dropped points, Arsenal dropped points and they’ve put themselves in an even better position.
“Arne Slott must have had his heart in his mouth watching those final few minutes and the biggest VAR decision of the season so far.
“It was absolutely unbelievable but Martinelli just had to put himself offside.”
partner sky sports Pandit paul merson Criticizing Marinelli himself, he said: “He’s offside, but from a football point of view, that’s Martinelli’s culprit.
“You can’t be offside. You’re looking along the line. He’s got speed, so he’s not a guy that’s trying to run out a yard and make a play straight down the sideline.
“I would be surprised if he’s not on the receiving end of one in the dressing room by the manager because he knows that too. You can see it on his face, he knows you can’t do that.
“One thing when you look along that line – don’t be offside. It’s as simple as that.”
Merson: Liverpool have the lead in the title race
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Paul Merson claims Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage was a blow to their title prospects and suggests Liverpool now have the advantage in the Premier League race.
Former Arsenal forward Merson also believes that the draw is a damaging result for Arsenal, and that they must win at Craven Cottage to win the league title.
“This is not a good result,” he said. “It took two points away. They were just running around a bit and it was a nightmare with the goal disallowed at the end.
“They had to win this match. Advantage Liverpool.”
“Arsenal could have gone four [points behind Liverpool] And this would have been a huge benefit for them.
“Now, Liverpool have a game in hand and it’s a bad result. It’s not an easy place to go, but if you want to win the Premier League title, you have to win at Craven Cottage.”
Arteta: We can’t cry about the result
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was feeling frustrated after 1-1 draw at Fulham
arsenal manager mikel arteta He was keen to point out the positives of his team’s performance despite the draw, saying that he did not want the players to feel sorry for themselves.
He said in the post-match press conference: “I’m sad that we couldn’t win it, because I think we deserved to win from start to finish. We did almost everything we had to do to win it. “
“But it’s the quality of the opponent, on one occasion they score a goal. And then also the margin of the league. For millimetres, we could have sat here with three points after a strong and effective performance from a really good team.
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Arsenal score another set-piece goal! William Saliba equalized against Fulham.
“You can’t cry about it. That’s the beauty of this league. The beauty of this team is how they are able to play today even in these conditions and against good opposition. I’m really happy about that.” “
“We had a really good performance against a really good team. Usually you don’t see games like this here.”
“Now we have to continue to improve and see what we can do better so that the opponent has zero chance to win the game. That’s the aim.”
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Raul Jimenez gives Fulham early lead against Arsenal
fulham manager marco silva added to sky sports: “We had a plan and the first thing is to appreciate the commitment of the players and we stuck to it. It’s difficult in terms of performance because the game on the ball was not what we normally like to play Are.
“After the opening goal, Arsenal started to press us in a different way, they went into one-on-one situations. The weather conditions were also not good, which is no excuse, but it caused some problems for us. “Playing the ball the way we like to play.”
