Arsenal vs Manchester United goal allowed by VAR: Fair play? Should the Ref whistle? Twitter reaction

In one of the weirdest streaks you’ll see in the Premier League this year, Arsenal scored the opening goal against Manchester United on Thursday with the goalkeeper on the line in a fetal position, with his back turned to play. fight.

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe scored into a virtual empty net, but referee Martin Atkinson initially disallowed the goal. Supposedly Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea was at fault.

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But the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) examined the game and found that De Gea was indeed conceded by his teammate Fred and immediately went down in agony, turning his back on the action. And because the referee didn’t blow the final whistle, VAR warned the referee and the goal was allowed to stand still.

Watch the play below:

Did Arsenal play fair?

Arsenal did nothing wrong in play and had the right to continue playing and take the shot.

While under no obligation to do so, the Gunners can also kick the ball out to let De Gea be dealt with rather than hitting the blocked goal.

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Some on social media made the argument that Arsenal should have let Man United go on the pitch and score it because of good sportsmanship. That didn’t happen.

Many also criticized De Gea for going down too easily and not trying to watch the game, at least giving himself a chance to save if he could save.

Should the referee blow the whistle to play dead?

Referees are under no obligation to blow the whistle, except in the case of head injuries, when players are allowed immediate treatment.

But the referee also had full discretion to blow the game to death and Atkinson probably would have done so if he had had more time.

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“Normally when the ‘keeper comes down we should stop the game, but mistakes happen,” United midfielder Bruno Fernandes said after the game. “The players fouled. I don’t know if the referee made a foul or not.”

You can’t help but wonder if the referee had this situation in mind when Arsenal yelled the penalty right before half-time. Video replays showed defender Harry Maguire handing Takehiro Tomiyasu to the ground, but there was no whistle and it was VAR who had no choice but to allow Arsenal’s goal to not signal an obvious error.

The debate around this goal will continue for the next few days, at least if the social media reaction is any indication: