Arsenal vs Aston Villa: 4 talking points from 1-0 defeat

Emiliano Martinez Lucky to Avoid Giving Away a Penalty?

It sucks mentioning refereeing decisions. There is no fun in it. And, let’s make this clear, Arsenal lost because they fluffed up at the beginning and fell victim to another installment of missed opportunities when in the ascendancy.

Aston Villa defended superbly all afternoon from back to front, and while some may argue a draw would’ve been fair, Mat Ryan spared Arsenal with a string of solid saves.

However. However, indeed.

In the second half Martinez clearly hauls down Lacazette in the penalty box with a large chunk of his shirt firmly in his grasp. It was missed, or ignored, by Chris Kavanagh, and then VAR had a look too. Nothing given. Somehow.

Good ol’ Peter Walton had this gem to say on BT Sport about the incident:

"“I think VAR did look at it because they do a ‘silent check’ on everything,” he said. “VAR is not there to get the correct decision, it’s there to identify clear & obvious errors from the referee or when the referee has missed something. “From a subjective point of view, has Lacazette used that [shirt pull] as an opportunity to then lean on the goalkeeper? We all agree within football there is a certain amount of physical contact allowed.”"

VAR not there to make the right decision? There is a ‘certain amount of physical contact allowed’? Try telling the latter to David Luiz’s lower thigh.

Anyway, this isn’t the reason Arsenal lost. Doesn’t make it any less infuriating, mind you. It was a simple spot that will have had Villa fans with their hearts in their mouths.