Arsenal vs Liverpool ref watch: Three decisions Anthony Taylor got wrong
Anthony Taylor had his hands full during a tightly fought Premier League clash between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
Jeremie Frimpong went down under pressure from Piero Hincapie in the opening few stages, giving the referee plenty to think about as the two sides battled it out on Thursday, 8 January.
With Mohamed Salah away at AFCON with Egypt, Bukayo Saka was expected to be the livewire during the game, and while he did create chances, it was not enough for him to break the deadlock.
It was always going to be a difficult game to officiate, and it all really kicked off in the closing stages.
Taylor is amongst the best in the Premier League, but that did not mean that one of Howard Webb‘s most experienced went without any mistakes.
Anthony Taylor sets wrong tone with early caution
The clash was always going to be tightly fought between the two heavyweights, but after just 12 minutes, Leandro Trossard had already seen his name written into the referee’s notebook.
Unarguably, the Belgian brought Florian Wirtz down on the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area, but with nobody ahead of him, it was hardly like the player had halted a promising counterattack.
Leandro Trossard avoids further pain vs Liverpool
Already on his yellow card, Gary Neville accused the Belgian of a “clumsy” challenge on Wirtz inside the penalty area just three minutes into the second half.
The decision was waved away, then confirmed by VAR, but it was a moment of stupidity from the Arsenal winger, who just bundled into the opposition’s playmaker without much thought.
Had the penalty been given, very few would have argued against it, at least none supporting the Gunners, but it was another moment which passed the referee by.
Gabriel Martinelli only cautioned for ridiculous headloss
In the final stages, Conor Bradley was clearly hurt right next to the sidelines, and while the defender did edge himself back onto the pitch, Gabriel Martinelli‘s reaction was uncalled for.
The Brazilian pushed the full-back, causing him even more pain, before he needed to be stretchered off, and you could see just how furious his Liverpool teammates were.
Martinelli certainly could have earned himself a red card, having also dropped the ball on the injured player, but he was allowed to stay on the pitch up until the final whistle.