Michail Antonio might be podcast pals with Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson, but he does not agree with a decision that the Magpies got against Arsenal.
Newcastle beat Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday night, with Anthony Gordon scoring the only goal of the game. But it was a very controversial goal, with VAR looking at three separate reasons to possibly disallow it.
They looked at whether the ball had initially gone out in the buildup, whether there was a foul by Joelinton on Gabriel and whether Gordon was offside before putting the ball in the net. In the end, VAR ruled that there was no wrongdoing and gave the goal.
Since then, the reaction has been staggering. Mikel Arteta was furious, and his ridiculous comments were backed up by Arsenal who supported their manager in an embarrassing statement.
Everyone has had a say, and, while we are obviously biased towards the Magpies, it feels like the reaction has been so over the top.
Now West Ham forward Michail Antonio has given his view, and he believes Arsenal were on the end of a bad decision.
Michail Antonio thinks Newcastle goal vs Arsenal should have been disallowed
Antonio spoke about the incident on the latest episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast, and was asked if he thought the goal should have been given.
“No, I don’t,” he said.
“The fact there was three things they had to check and all three things were dubious. All three could have been one separate occasion! It being off the pitch, in my eyes it’s off. It looks more off than on so I really don’t understand how VAR can look at that, stop it, and then go ‘yeah that’s on’.
“So that one is okay, let’s let that one go. Then you go to the free kick, which should have been a free kick. There’s two hands on Gabriel’s back! Man is about to head the ball away and he has two hands on man’s back. It’s not even like a little nudge, he’s put full force in.
“The only thing I could say could be possibly tight is the offside. He’s definitely behind the keeper. It’s whether or not he’s in line with the ball when he’s pushed Joelinton and it’s happened to fall to him. That’s a sticky one but the other two – I can’t believe it!”
Subjective decision went in Newcastle’s favour, not Arsenal’s
Again, I am speaking from a place of bias, but how can Antonio still believe that the ball was out? It is actually frightening how many people do not understand how a sphere works. Just like for a goal, the entirety of the ball has to be over the line. It does not look like it was on Saturday, which is why Joe Willock was allowed to play on.
The only questionable decision is the foul. If that was against Newcastle, I would probably feel very different. But Gabriel surely has to be stronger, while he has already ducked down before Joelinton put his hands on him.
And for the offside, your guess is as good as mine. It looked on to me…
But the fact it is nearly a week since the goal was scored and we are still debating it is laughable. Arsenal can be annoyed all they want, but this is certainly not a miscarriage of justice. It is a subjective decision that has gone against them.
And, for what it is worth, a Premier League panel has decided that the correct decision was made – although that is hardly going to stop the conspiracy theories!
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