Premier League: Arsenal gifted controversial penalty by referee in Bournemouth clash - WATCH

Premier League: Arsenal gifted controversial penalty by referee in Bournemouth clash - WATCH

Premier League: Arsenal gifted controversial penalty by referee in Bournemouth clash - WATCH

Arsenal’s luck in the Premier League title race once again was on the showcase after the side was awarded a controversial penalty in their match against Bournemouth on Saturday (May 4). The incidentwhichdid not go well with the awayfanswas widely condemnedon the internet, but Bukayo Saka stepped up to score as the Gunners had a halftime lead of 1-0. At the time of writing, the lead also sees Arsenal open up a four-point gap at the top of the Premier League standingswithManchester City having two matches in hand.

Arsenal gifted penalty by referee

In the 42nd minute of the match at the Emirates Stadium in London, referee David Coote decided to give a penalty for a foul on Arsenal attacker Kai Havertz. While the naked eyes showed that there was a touch by goalkeeper Mark Travers on Havertz, upon replay it was spotted that the touch was engineered by the attacker on the goalkeeper. However, the benefit of the doubt was given in the home side’s favour and the penalty stood despite VAR being used in the process.

The resulting penalty was converted by Saka which saw the Gunners take a 1-0 lead at the break. The lead now sees Arsenal go on 83 points in the Premier League standings with two matches to go. On the other hand, Man City are on 79 points from 34 matches and can narrow the gap to one point by the end of the night when they face Wolves later on Sunday.

Liverpool technically still have a chance of winning the Premier League title but for that to happen, both Arsenal and Man City need to lose their all remaining matches. Arsenal's remaining two matches see them travel to Manchester United at Old Trafford on the penultimate day before facing Everton on the final day of the season.

Manchester City on the other hand have Wolves, Fulham, Spurs and West Ham to face at tough end to the Premier League season.

About the Author

Parth Seth is a research fellow at India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, where he studies the themes of development, foreign policy, and multilateralism, particularly in ...Read More