The 57th minute of this afternoon’s Premier League encounter between Aston Villa and Arsenal, controversy struck when Alexandre Lacazette and ex-Gunners ace Emi Martinez tussled in the box.
Lacazette darted across his former teammate as a corner was sent in from right flank, this sparked a coming together in which Martinez quite apparently dragged the striker down to the floor.
With plenty of Arsenal fans awaiting a penalty… a free-kick to Aston Villa was awarded, with Lacazette immediately substituted for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after.
Some Arsenal fans are convinced that Martinez was ‘pulling’ Lacazette in the incident, which marks yet another decision that has gone against the Gunners in a nightmare week of action.
A compilation of decisions that have gone against Mikel Arteta’s side recently emerged after the sending off of David Luiz in the defeat to Wolves, with the Brazilian also seeing an appeal questionably rejected.
Chris Kavanagh was the man in charge of the action this afternoon, with the referee previously sending off Emile Smith Rowe this season in the FA Cup tie against Newcastle after a VAR review.
Kavanagh was also in the middle of that controversial decision that saw Eddie Nketiah sent off against Leicester last season.
See More: Video: Arsenal star Nicolas Pepe left floored and stunned after ball hits face against Aston Villa
Pictures from BT Sport.
Here’s how some of the Arsenal faithful have reacted to the moment:
Amid all the controversy, warranted or not, Joshua Jones came up with the most logical explanation:
As far as the commentary team and the visual proceedings on the pitch showed as well, VAR was surprisingly left unused when this moment arose.
Do you think Arsenal were robbed with this decision? Let us know your opinions on the matter in the comments below…