Ian Wright weighed in on Arsenal’s penalty against Liverpool earlier today. It proved to be the winning goal at the Emirates.
Arsenal saw Liverpool off 3-2 at the Emirates on Sunday. The Reds, however, will come away feeling like they beat themselves.
All three Gunners goals were preventable, with Jamie Carragher labelling Liverpool ‘shocking’ for the second. While the Reds were able to fight back twice, three times proved too much.
But should the third goal have happened? It came via a penalty after Thiago was judged to have fouled Gabriel Jesus. It was a controversial one, however.
Bother players went to volley the ball in the box but the Brazilian got there a split-second faster. There wasn’t much contact at all but Michael Oliver saw enough to give a penalty. Bukayo Saka dispatched it well but Ian Wright isn’t convinced the penalty should have been given.
“It was a soft penalty,” he told Premier League Productions. “If it was against me, I wouldn’t be happy about it. At the end of the day, it’s what’s decided the game.”
“I can’t see where the foul is,” he went on to say. “I don’t think there’s enough contact for him to go down as he has.”
Arsenal’s penalty against Liverpool
It’s telling that when Dermot Gallagher was asked afterwards if he’d have given it, he chose to stay silent. “It’s difficult being a referee,” he said.
But look, Liverpool can feel harshly done by with the penalty but their defending in the buildup was awful. They had several chances to clear the ball, failed to do so, and allowed Arsenal to keep the pressure on.
No, it shouldn’t have resulted in a goal but you run these risks when the ball is consistently in your box. Not a penalty for us – or Wright, or Gallagher, or Michael Owen – but Liverpool can’t point to it as their only reason for failure on Sunday.
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