Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has given his verdict on an overlooked moment that could've landed Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino in some serious trouble during the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday. While the game lacked a lot of the spark that often makes the fixture so exhilarating, there was no shortage of controversial moments, the most notable leading directly to United's opener.
Official Anthony Taylor set the Arsenal wall 11.2 yards ahead of Bruno Fernandes' free-kick that gave the hosts the lead, with Christian Eriksen admitting to seeing the mistake. However, it turns out that this was not the only thing that Taylor missed on the night, with Gallagher now casting his view on an incident involving Merino and Alejandro Garnacho.
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Gallagher Claims Merino Right Not to be Sent Off for Garnacho Stamp
The Spaniard appeared to tread on the United winger while he was down
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As can be seen in the image below, Merino engages in a tussle involving Garnacho and Casemiro and appears to step on the Argentine who is down on the floor. While it does seem that the Gunners star did apply a certain degree of force to the challenge, it does look as though the contact was accidental at second glance.
Speaking on Sky Sports' latest edition of Ref Watch, Gallagher shared a similar sentiment, claiming that while it doesn't look good, it was no more than a bookable offence:
"If the referee gives something, he'll give a yellow card. It doesn't look good, but I don't think it's a red card. I think Casemiro also gives him a kick, so he got booted by two players! What helps Garnacho is that he stands on his boot rather than his ankle."
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The ex-official tried his best to explain what caused Taylor to set the wall further back
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Gallagher was also pressed on the incident that gave United the lead, as he was asked to explain why Taylor may have positioned the Arsenal wall further back than the usually allotted 10 yards.
"The referee felt it was 10 yards and in fairness to him, the law says minimum of 10 yards. It doesn't say they can't go back 11," the 67-year-old stated. "He may have factored in that when a free-kick is taken, the wall moves forward anyhow so by the time the free kick is taken, it's closer to 10.
"I'm not sure the calibration [of the measurement] is right anyhow, but Anthony Taylor will have his system of measuring 10 yards.
"The pitch is cut in six-yard sections and looking at the pictures, it doesn't look to be much off 10 yards when you see it. There are guides for referees to help them."
Interestingly, Gallagher's point regarding the wall moving forward is exactly what happened when United were forced to defend a free-kick from a similar position in the second half. The Red Devils' wall crept forward ahead of Martin Odegaard's attempt, and even jumped forward to close down the shot which was cleared away by Casemiro.
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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 10/03/2025.