Bukayo Saka
The Premier League have confirmed the decision to award a penalty for this foul on Bukayo Saka was the correct call
The Premier League have confirmed the decision to award Arsenal a penalty against West Ham was the right decison.
Bukayo Saka had been brought down by Lucas Paqueta, with referee Anthony Taylor pointing to the spot. Taylor's decision was checked by VAR Michael Salisbury before it was confirmed, with Saka grabbing the ball before handing it over to captain Martin Odegaard to score the penalty.
West Ham showed little sign of protest over Taylor's call, with Manchester United legend Gary Neville insisting he had 'no sympathy' for Paqueta. Premier League chiefs then backed Taylor and Salisbury's decision in a statement.
The Premier League said: "The referee’s call of penalty for a foul by Paqueta on Saka was checked and confirmed by VAR, deeming that the contact was sufficient for a penalty."
Liverpool icon Jamie Redknapp also blasted Paqueta for his decision to dive in. He told Sky Sports: "This is Saka at his best. You have to leave it, you cannot dangle a lazy leg out like Paqueta does."
Odegaard's penalty was Arsenal's third goal of a crazy first-half, which ended up 5-2 to the visitors. Gabriel had opened the scoring for the visitors when he guided in Saka's corner with a header 10 minutes in.
Leandro Trossard doubled their lead when he tapped in from a square ball from close-range. Odegaard's penalty put them three goals up, before Kai Havertz broke clear almost immediately and slotted in a fourth.
But West Ham finally struck back through Aaron Wan-Bissaka's poked shot before Emerson scored a brilliant free-kick to halve the deficit. There was still time for another penalty for Arsenal when Lukas Fabianski punched Gabriel in the head at a corner.
This time, Saka stepped up to squeeze home the spot-kick and cap off a crazy opening 45 minutes. The Premier League again released a statement on that incident, saying: "The referee’s call of penalty for a reckless challenge by Fabianski on Gabriel was checked and confirmed by VAR."
The seven goals in this match are a shared Premier League record for most in a first half, following Blackburn Rovers-Leeds United in September 1997 (3-4 at half-time), Bradford City-Derby County in April 2000 (4-3 at half-time) and Reading-Manchester United in December 2012 (3-4 at half-time).
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