Arsenal secured a 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening, with late goals from Gabriel Jesus and Declan Rice giving the hosts all three points after Martin Odegaard had cancelled out Marcus Rashford’s 27th-minute opener just after 100 seconds.
Both sides had chances to win the game earlier on and the Gunners thought they had gotten an opportunity to do so from the spot when referee Anthony Taylor awarded them a penalty in the 59th minute.
Kai Havertz had driven into the penalty area and gotten in between Casemiro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and the right-back was adjudged to have clipped the heels of the German midfielder which made him go down.
However, VAR checked and it was overruled after Taylor went to the screen and checked the replays.
They appear to show Havertz instigating the contact, and while Gary Neville had initially claimed he did not think the officials would overturn it, he was left surprised by the final decision.
“What shocked me about the penalty incident and the on-field review is the high bar they’ve set themselves,” the Man United legend said on Sky Sports.
“It feels like there’s been a change in policy on that one.”
The officiating this season has been below par, with Fulham left fuming after Manchester City were awarded their second goal in the 5-1 defeat yesterday despite replays showing that Nathan Ake was clearly offside.
The story was different today as both sides had nothing to complain about.
Alejandro Garnacho thought he had won the game for Man United in the 88th minute, but VAR checked for offside and rightly cancelled the goal as the Argentine was marginally ahead of Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
The match appeared to be heading for a draw until the 95th and 105th minutes goals broke the hearts of the visitors.
