Looking at things from an Arsenal point of view I definitely agree with Arsene Wenger’s suggestion that the penalty awarded against the Gunners today was a soft one and that Moussa Dembele was looking for it when he ran into the box and into three Arsenal players that he was never going to get past.
At the same time, however, I can see why the referee Mark Clattenburg gave the spot kick to Tottenham because Laurent Koscielny did waft a leg and he did not make any contact with the ball. He did make contact with the player though and Dembele was happy to hit the turf and delighted to win his side an unlikely route back into the game.
And that is what Wenger was questioning with his post match comments on the Sky Sports website, saying that contact is not necessarily a foul and from many incidents we see every week in the Premier League the Frenchman does have a point.
He said, “I think the penalty was harsh because from where I sit it looked harsh. It didn’t look dangerous to score and it didn’t look a foul from outside.
“After, speaking to some referees they could give it or not give it. Personally as the manager of Arsenal Football Club, I prefer not to give it.”
What I did not like was how quick the ref was to point to the spot as he may have decided the contact was minimal if he had thought about it. It is especially annoying when you see that Vertonghen is allowed to grab and hold the shirt of Alexis Sanchez in the box and not be penalised but what can you do?
The painful fact is that Arsenal were bel;ow par today and the boss accepted that. He put it down to nerves and I agree that we looked a bit cautious and more afraid to concede than determined to score and by p[laying like that I feel that we have missed a trick and let our north London rivals off lightly.
What did you guys make of the derby draw today?
Bob.