Jamie Carragher is the latest to weigh in on the debate around Arsenal “getting away with it” from corners after West Ham came so close to ruining their title celebrations, and his analysis has drawn widespread praise. The former Liverpool defender clearly burnt the midnight oil ahead of this week’s Monday Night Football.
There was a lot to unpack at the London Stadium to keep the renowned pundit up at night, too. While a late corner saw Callum Wilson score a 95th-minute equaliser against the Premier League leaders, referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR Darren England believed there was a foul on David Raya, while reports after the match suggested five Arsenal fouls were enough for the hosts to lodge an official complaint with PGMOL.
Now, Carragher has given his thoughts on it all, with it now looking increasingly likely that the decision was the difference between Mikel Arteta’s side finding themselves on dodgy footing in the final rounds of the title race or striking gold for the first time in 22 years. With just three matches left to get through, Arsenal can almost taste footballing immortality.
West Ham United v Arsenal: General view of the big screen after West Ham United's Callum Wilson goal that was later disallowed Related
PGMOL Insider Explains Why VAR Did Not Penalise Arsenal Players 'Holding' vs West Ham
Many have questioned why Hammers striker Pablo was the only player punished amid all the chaos.
Carragher Analyses Arsenal West Ham Drama
David Raya demands action after corner
David Raya demands action after corner
“Forget the clear and obvious bit. I just want to mention this, the clear and obvious bit, it took that long because there was so many things to look at. Jermaine just highlighted three or four," Carragher began his analysis. "Let's not forget, let's give them some credit here, the pressure on this decision, what it meant not just for these two football clubs, what it meant for Manchester City, what it meant for Tottenham. In a situation like that, I don't think anyone should be complaining with how long it took.
“Did they get to the right decision? Yes. There is two sets of people who thought that wasn't a foul. The people who've got an association with Manchester City or West Ham. Or the people who don't want Arsenal to win the league. The reason there has been so much uproar around it, there is a lot of people who don't want Arsenal to win the league. The reason why is, because what we saw yesterday, we see every week in the Premier League now. They were the instigators of it.
“This all started with Arsenal, two of three seasons ago, putting 15 players in a six-yard box. The reason people were upset with Arsenal and feel like they've got away with it is because this a football club, whether you like it or not, that push the boundaries in every area to gain an advantage. That's why they are disliked. The manager standing on the opposition touchline."
He continued: “Is there holding in the box, is there pulling jerseys? Yes, of course there is. Trossard in this situation, has he got his arms around a player? Pablo he's got hold off who ends up making the foul.
"I've been in that situation - is that enough for a penalty? For me, no. Declan Rice ends up with his arms around Mavrapanos, doesn't like great, but again - would I want to give a penalty for that? Or want a penalty given against me for that? I don't think they're going to get given. Manchester City fans might be claiming about this, Bernardo Silva did one at Everton last week and we weren't sitting on this show claiming it should have been a penalty.
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"The reason this is a foul on the goalkeeper, and it is. It's not even the arm, it's the grip. It's the holding. If that arm is in the air flailing, I'd say it's not a foul. You can't grab a goalkeeper on the arm and stop him raising his hand. That can't happen. People are crying today, I see social media everywhere. Arsenal get away with this week after week, I don't think they do.”
Carragher Also Dissected Other Controversial Incidents
Jamie Carragher Sky Sports
Carragher also dissected the incident involving William Saliba and Altay Bayındır earlier in the season, claiming it can't be compared. He also provided evidence from three years ago proving Arsenal were also penalised for the same offence. He added: "I look at these situations, I see why people get disgruntled because Arsenal push the boundaries.
"Saliba here, he's backing into the goalkeeper, he's making it difficult for him, yes. He's got his arm up. But when it carries on, he's not really stopping him, the goalkeeper has to do better on that one. We go to another one on Aston Villa, just pushing it as far as they can, backing into the goalkeeper, does he elbow him? Maybe catches him. Should the goalkeeper do better? Yes! It's not the same as what we saw at the weekend.
"What is the same is what happened three years ago at Leicester, we see Ben White. He's got the grip as we saw yesterday, with Pablo on Raya, that grip is there on the glove. He then hooks him and makes sure he can't lift the right arm up. Arsenal get the ball back, Trossard puts it in the goal. Goal, disallowed. This idea I've seen all day, they're getting away with it, they're not. They push the boundaries as far as they can. They're the best at set-pieces. But when they did what we saw yesterday, they got pulled up for it."