Expert lambasts Gabriel Jesus as new Arsenal footage analysed – ‘a five-year-old wouldn’t even go down’
Noel Whelan has insisted the decision to give Arsenal a penalty for a foul on Gabriel Jesus was “completely soft”.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted a “five-year-old” wouldn’t have gone down under Thiago’s challenge.
As seen in footage on the Sky Sports YouTube channel (9 October), Jesus went down inside the 18-yard box after he was fouled from behind by the Liverpool midfielder – and was instantly awarded a penalty by Michael Oliver.
Bukayo Saka stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick, which was upheld by VAR, and hand Arsenal a 3-2 win.
Speaking post-match and quoted by the Daily Mail, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insisted the decision was “soft” and suggested Jesus “made up” the contact in order to win a penalty.
The Reds were controversially denied a penalty for handball by defender Gabriel in the first half, while Gabriel Martinelli escaped punishment for a lunge on Virgil van Dijk.
Whelan suggested Jesus was “clever” to manipulate Thiago’s challenge into a spot-kick.
He told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Jesus has got to the ball first, and Thiago has made contact with him.
“It’s completely soft but the clever player Jesus is – he makes the most of it and goes down.
“It’s such a soft penalty, that probably a five-year-old kid wouldn’t even go down on the school field. They’d play on.
“But Jesus had the cleverness to recognise that it’s a big game, and he went down.
“He got what he wanted, which was a penalty, and ended up winning his side the game.”
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