Arsenal might have beaten Bournemouth comfortably at the weekend but things could have been different but for one decision.
The Cherries had the ball in the net at 2-0 in what could have been a big game-changing moment in the game.
However, the referee gave a foul on David Raya after Dominic Solanke went within touching distance of him and the VAR then failed to overturn the decision.
From there, Arsenal went on to win 3-0 as Declan Rice scored late on to seal the deal.
However, speaking about the incident on Raya today, Dermot Gallagher has offered his take on the matter and conceded it could have been different.
Dermot Gallagher shares his view on Bournemouth’s disallowed goal v Arsenal
Speaking on Sky Sports just now about the incident, former referee Gallagher admitted he thought the goal should have been given for the Cherries.
“I expected a goal to be given to be honest. If you look at it, Solanke doesn’t look at the ball and gives him a little nudge but is it enough? Feels under his arm but is it enough to knock the keeper off balance like that? The keeper goes and gets straight back up so he obviously doesn’t think he’s been fouled, so I expected the goal to be given,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher opinions sum up this season
It’s been an utterly bizarre season in terms of refereeing decisions and VAR calls and it’s summed up by the fact we have a weekly show with Gallagher assessing things.
The referee and VAR have almost become the stars of the show and it’s getting pretty tiresome really.
Just a short while ago we had a bizarre opinion from Gallagher on whether Cristian Romero should have been sent off, while the former ref also felt Liverpool should have had a penalty v Arsenal a few months back.
But all in all, this sort of content is just driving the divide between players, fans, and referees.
Gallagher tries to summarise things in order of what the laws of the game say. But even then, the likes of Sue Smith and Stephen Warnock disagree with him at times.
And in a nutshell, that just sums up VAR and the refereeing we are seeing right now.