Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has suggested Arsenal's first goal in Sunday’s match against Manchester City should have been disallowed.
The game ended in a dramatic draw at the Etihad Stadium, with John Stones scoring a last-gasp equaliser for Pep Guardiola's team in the 98th minute. Erling Haaland had put City ahead, but Arsenal went into half-time leading 2-1 thanks to strikes from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel. However, after Leandro Trossard was sent off, Arsenal had to adjust their approach to maintain their slender advantage.
Despite the late disappointment, Halsey told The Sun he believes Arsenal's initial equaliser came under fortunate circumstances. The Gunners scored following a quick free-kick which allowed Gabriel Martinelli to set up Calafiori, who finished superbly.
Kyle Walker was caught off guard by the goal as he was conversing with referee Michael Oliver near the halfway line about the aggressive nature of some tackles at the time.
Halsey said: "Kyle Walker had every right to feel aggrieved over Riccardo Calafiori's 22nd-minute goal. Ref Michael Oliver called the City captain over for a chat after the Gunners had been awarded a free-kick, which is fine."
"But the issue is he allowed Thomas Partey to take the set-piece quickly and, with Walker out of position, Arsenal ended up scoring. Walker was rightly furious. When a referee calls a player over, he must allow him to get back into position. Oliver should have restarted the game once Walker had returned to his right-back spot. The goal came because Walker was out of position and Gabriel Martinelli exploited the space before teeing up Calafiori."
Guardiola was livid with the happening as it also appeared that Partey had launched the
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