Arsenal came into the contest against Fulham needing a win to return to the top of the Premier League table and saw a pivotal decision go against them
Arsenal were denied a penalty against Fulham when referee Anthony Taylor consulted VAR and overruled his decision that Bukayo Saka was fouled by Kevin.
The Premier League official pointed to the spot after the Brazilian challenged the England international in the box. Initially, it appeared to be the kind of routine, stonewall penalty any referee would give. However, a second look at the incident saw Kevin got a touch on the ball a split-second before Saka went down.
It produced the biggest cheer of the evening from the home fans at Craven Cottage, who still believed a result was within their grasp, with the Gunners only leading by a single goal. However, it did not prove to be the game changing moment they hoped for, as Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners.
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Over the Craven Cottage PA system, Taylor said: “After review, number 22 makes a challenge and plays the ball therefore no foul is committed. No penalty, restart with a drop ball from the goalkeeper.”
Saka could be seen disputing the overturn with Taylor when the official came back onto the pitch, while Arteta also argued with the fourth official. While Saka, Arteta and the rest of the Arsenal stars may have been angry, it did not reflect in their performances.
“For me, it’s a penalty,” Saka said post-match. “Of course, I understand he touched the ball, but I felt a big contact on my right knee before he touched the ball, and for me, any contact like that in the box is a penalty.
“The decision has been made, I don’t want to dwell on it, let’s just move forward. We got the three points.”
At the time of the decision, Arsenal were holding onto their narrow 1-0 lead, which was secured through Leandro Trossard’s close-range finish. The Belgian instinctively popped up at the back post to tap home a flicked header from Gabriel Magalhaes.
It proved to be a crucial goal as Arsenal held onto their one-goal advantage to secure a vital away victory. There was a lot of pressure on the Gunners coming into the clash in west London.
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Manchester City moved to the top of the table barely half an hour before the Gunners kicked-off at Craven Cottage. A brace from Erling Haaland saw them overcome Everton 2-0 and jump into first position.
Anything less than a victory for Arteta’s side, who did not have a good recent away record against their west London neighbours coming into the contest, would have seen City remain on top. But the Gunners controlled the contest and secured a much needed three points to keep themselves ahead of the pack.
However, Arteta will be urging his players to remain calm and not be sucked into any title favourites conversations. In his pre-match press conference, he said: “We cannot pay too much attention to that because the feeling was you go to Newcastle, if you lose in Newcastle, the Premier League is over.
“And one week later, you are where you are. So, honestly, it’s less focus on what we can control, focus on our performance, focus on delivering and achieving what we want to achieve daily and the rest, it’s 30 games, it’s still too early.
“So many things are going to happen. Emotionally, we cannot be dragged into these things because we have much more important things to do.”
Arsenal face two decisive clashes at the Emirates Stadium in their next two matches. They play host to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, before returning on Sunday for a difficult clash against Crystal Palace.
