Eberechi Eze fired Arsenal to a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon - becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a North London Derby since Alan Sunderland in 1978.
Alan Shearer in front of a TV camera.
Alan Shearer has called out Michael Oliver after the North London Derby.(Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Alan Shearer has slammed the match officials for not ruling out Eberechi Eze's opening strike in the North London Derby. The 27-year-old midfielder doubled Arsenal's lead vs Tottenham Hotspur shortly before half-time, arrowing the ball through a crowd of bodies to find the bottom corner.
Neither Micky van de Ven nor Kevin Danso managed to block Eze's shot, despite their best efforts. Behind them stood Martin Zubimendi and Leandro Trossard, who were not adjudged to have interfered with play or hindered Guglielmo Vicario from an offside position.
Michael Oliver then awarded the goal. The Video Assistant Referee, Stuart Attwell, and his assistant, Constantine Hatzidakis, reviewed the incident at Stockley Park, agreeing with the on-field decision.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast - with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards - Shearer slammed the match officials, claiming they were 'petrified' to make the correct call. The Newcastle United legend said: "This first one should have been offside.
"I don't know what you think, Micah. I just honestly think that the referees and the VAR have got themselves in such a pickle with this situation. I thought they were petrified to give the correct decision.
"He should have been offside. There's no way those guys in front of him weren't directly in the line of sight of the goalkeeper. Therefore, it was clearly offside.
Eberechi Eze shoots at goal for Arsenal.
Eberechi Eze scored a controversial goal for Arsenal against Tottenham with three of his team-mates seemingly offside and in Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario's line of sight.
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"Yet because of what's gone on, with the Forest goal, with what happened with Liverpool at Man City, they were petrified of making the decision, and they just panicked and they got the wrong decision."
Shearer added: "It was a good job it didn't make that much of a difference but, if it had, then you could imagine the backfire that would have happened. It was offside, but it was still a great strike."
Richards took aim at the match officials as well. The ex-Man City defender said: "We keep saying; 'Consistency' and all those things, but it either is (offside) or it isn't. If someone's in front of the goalkeeper - the one against Man City with [Virgil] van Dijk, that should have stood, shouldn't it?
Virgil van Dijk heads at goal for Liverpool.
Virgil van Dijk cut a frustrated figure after he was denied an equaliser against Manchester City.
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"But, someone made an obvious attempt to play the ball, so you would say it is affecting the judgment of the goalkeeper because he's moving. But if you're in an offside position and you're in front of the goalkeeper, why don't they just give it offside?
"It would be easy for them to just say; 'That's offside', because then you don't get; 'Should it', 'Was it', 'I'm not sure about it', They're just making it more difficult for themselves."
Shearer replied: "I honestly think they have panicked. I think they've panicked and thought if we give that offside, the criticism we're going to get again but, really, that would have been the right decision. They've just made such a mess of the last couple of weeks with those decisions."
Eberechi Eze shoots at goal for Arsenal.
Alan Shearer thought both Martin Zubimendi and Leandro Trossard were offside.
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Lineker chimed in, claiming referees are trying too hard to make the right decision. The former Match of the Day host said: "When I played if you were offside, you were offside. That was it.
"I don't know whether that would be better or worse for the actual game. But, at the minute, they're trying to be so specific, with not just offside but handballs, this and that."
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