English Premier League legends Paul Merson and Les Ferdinand claim Arsenal’s winning goal over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League was invalid.
Arsenal managed to beat Tottenham in the London derby, Sunday (15/9/2024). The Gunners’ only goal was scored by Gabriel Magalhaes in the middle of the second half.
Gabriel managed to win an aerial duel in Tottenham’s penalty box welcoming a pass from Bukayo Saka’s corner kick. However, Merson and Ferdinand considered Gabriel’s goal should not have been valid.
The reason is, Gabriel was seen to have committed a foul first against Cristian Romero in the process of the goal.
“I would have been disappointed if I didn’t get a foul. He was in the wrong position, everything was wrong about the way [Gabriel] defended,” Merson was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“I suspect there was a foul,” the former Arsenal player added.
Ferdinand admitted that Romer should have been stronger in the duel with Gabriel. However, Ferdinand thought that Gabriel’s push on Romero was a foul.
“I think if the center forward had done that, the referee would have given a foul,” said Ferdinand.
“They didn’t even notice him. He should have been stronger. It was a poor defense, but he [Romero] did get a push on his back,” Ferdinand asserted.
Even so, the criticism thrown by Merson and Ferdinand will not change the result of the match. Arsenal managed to beat their city rivals with a narrow score of 1-0.
This victory took Arsenal to second place in the Premier League standings with 10 points. Meanwhile, the top of the standings is still controlled by Manchester City who have collected 12 points from four matches.
Image source: belitong express
