Arsenal's first goal against Wolves sparked controversy as Bukayo Saka appeared offside before winning the corner that led to Sam Johnstone's own goal
Arsenal have been sent a fresh verdict on their potentially controversial opener against Wolves
Arsenal have been sent a fresh verdict on their potentially controversial opener against Wolves
View 2 Images
Arsenal have been told that VAR was right to not intervene and rule out their opening goal against Wolves on Saturday night for offside. Mikel Arteta's team secured a vital win at home against the Premier League's bottom-placed side, ensuring they kept their lead over Manchester City in the title race.
Despite a somewhat lacklustre performance in front of goal, the match ignited late in the second half when Bukayo Saka's corner was turned into the net by Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. However, it wasn't all plain sailing for the Gunners, as Tolu Arokodare headed in an equaliser as the game moved into added time.
For a few moments, it seemed Arsenal were heading towards a disappointing draw, but late substitute Gabriel Jesus got his head to a Saka cross, although it officially went down as another own goal, this time off Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera.
There was some controversy in the build-up to Arsenal's opening goal, with many pointing out that Saka appeared to be marginally offside in the lead-up to the corner that ultimately resulted in the goal.
Replays of the phase of play showed the winger was slightly behind the Wolves back line when a long pass was played forward to him by Declan Rice, before it was headed behind by Toti Gomes.
While some might argue that Gomes was influenced by Saka's presence, leading to a corner, the Match of the Day panel unanimously agreed that VAR should not have intervened to rule it out. They also referred to the explanation provided by the PGMOL for this decision.
Danny Murphy said: "You can tell he's in an offside position from the first look. Most of us watching it and think 'ooo he could be offside'.
"When it's cleared out for a corner, it's not offside. It's actually not his [Saka's] best ball in the world, the keeper should deal with it but he doesn't."
Lead presenter Mark Chapman then quoted the official rules from the PGMOL, stating: "Because Saka didn't affect the opponent's line of vision, he didn't challenge the opponent for the ball. Nor did he attempt to play the ball, he just dropped off.
(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images))
View 2 Images
"He didn't do anything to impact the opponent's ability to play the ball. If you look at it in black and white, that's why it wasn't given offside."
Arsenal have now increased their lead over second-placed Manchester City to five points, with Pep Guardiola's team set to take on Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon in an attempt to cut the gap back to two points.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have a full week to prepare for their journey to face Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday.
Speaking on that welcome break, Saka told TNT Sports: "Morale is high! We have a break until next week now, so we can reflect on the past few performances & be ready to go again next week.”
On the win after an average display, he added: "Sometimes you need that luck, today went our way, so we’ll take the points & move forward. We won’t know until May [what this win means], but we can be happy tonight, despite the performance & how the game went.”
Content Image
Content Image