‘Lucky’: Dermot Gallagher now shares whether Arsenal should have been given a penalty vs Bournemouth
Dermot Gallagher has suggested that the VAR was correct to not award Arsenal a penalty in the game against Bournemouth on Saturday, despite the Gunners having several appeals turned down by referee Chris Kavanagh.
Mikel Arteta’s men produced a brilliant comeback win over the weekend after they fell two goals behind at home to Bournemouth.
Thomas Partey and Ben White got on the scoresheet to level the game up before Reiss Nelson produced a stunning effort to win the game.
Arsenal found themselves frustrated on the day as they had several appeals for penalties turned down by the referee Chris Kavanagh.
Mikel Arteta’s side were denied a penalty in the first-half after the ball seemingly struck Chris Mepham’s arm in the penalty area.
VAR also checked for two potential handballs in the second-half, but much to Arteta’s frustration, neither were given.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was replaced by goalscorer Ben White at half-time but he was also brought down in the first-half, and VAR decided to stick with the on-field decision.
Now, former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher, has suggested that Tomiyasu’s shout for a penalty may have been rightly turned down.
Gallagher backs Tomiyasu decision
Speaking on Sky Sports today, Gallagher says that it was unclear whether Tomiyasu was kicked before the Bournemouth defender got the ball.
He said: “It’s one of them where you go with the referee because there’s so much doubt who gets that ball first,” he said.
“Well, if he gets the ball he doesn’t [get kicked]. Whether Tomiyasu catches him but I would suggest the only way you’re going to get a penalty there is on-field.”
The former referee also explained why Mepham wasn’t penalised for handball on Saturday. He said: “I think too high up when you look at it and maybe he gets lucky because his arms are out but it does hit the top of his arm.
“Not the best way to jump in the modern game though, is it? Because whether you like it or not, arms out – massive risk.”
Arsenal would have been heavily frustrated after the opening hour of the game and while the Tomiyasu penalty shout was questionable, Mepham’s handball seemed clear enough.
Fortunately for the Gunners, it didn’t matter in the end as they continued to chip away at the Cherries and were rewarded for their dominance.
While Arteta would probably prefer to win in a more comfortable fashion, it shows a lot about the mentality of this Arsenal side that they still found a way to win on the day.
