Arsenal’s goal to take the lead against Southampton at the weekend should have been ruled out for offside, according to former Premier League referee Mark Halsey.
The Gunners overcame a scare for the second week running at the Emirates Stadium when Southampton took the lead in the second half through Cameron Archer. But Arsenal weren’t behind for long with Kai Havertz equalising three minutes later.
In the 68th minute, Arsenal completed the turnaround with Gabriel Martinelli giving Mikel Arteta’s side the lead. The goal was checked by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a potential offside, but the goal was awarded.
Explaining the decision on the Premier League Match Centre X (formerly Twitter) account, the Premier League said: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Martinelli was in an onside position and deemed that Merino had no impact on the play.”
However, Halsey does not agree with the decision. While it was right that Martinelli was not offside, he argues that Mikel Merino, who was in an offside position, had an impact on goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Speaking on The Sun’s The Whistle Blower, the former referee said: “I have to say I thought it was offside because, like you say, you’re offside if you challenge an opponent for the ball, or clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when the action impacts on an opponent, making an obvious action which clearly impacts the ability of the opponent to play the ball.
