Mark Clattenburg fumes over Arsenal VAR incident at PSV – ‘Why?’
Mark Clattenburg tore into referee Jesus Gil over a frustrating incident as Arsenal beat PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta’s side had already gone two goals up thanks to Jurrien Timber and Ethan Nwaneri, who is already preferred to Raheem Sterling, though many will feel the Gunners were lucky not to go down to 10 men on 4 March.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, already on a yellow card, committed another offence but was not handed his marching orders, a moment which was quickly forgotten as Arsenal scored yet again.
Mikel Merino swept home the visitor’s third on the night, but appearing to be offside in the build-up, there was a lengthy offside check, and eventually, the goal was given.
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal cause controversy
Speaking live on Amazon Prime [4 March, 8:35pm], ex-Premier League official Clattenburg was not happy with the needless delay as the referee stood in the middle of the pitch.
He said: “We’re now waiting for the VAR to do this check. Why does the referee not go over to the monitor and have a conversation together?
“Why is he isolated and allowing the VAR to make this decision, when the referee is just standing around? He could easily have a look, talk with them, and speed the procedure up.”
Mikel Arteta’s side thrive despite no striker
Despite injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz at Arsenal, Arteta’s team had no trouble hitting the back of the net in the Netherlands, scoring three before the half-time whistle.
With Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard both netting in the second half, it was all but confirmed who would be heading through to the next round already, even with another tie to play.
| PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal – Key events |
| 18′ Jurrien Timber – GOAL (0-1) |
| 21′ Ethan Nwaneri – GOAL (0-2) |
| 31′ Mikel Merino – GOAL (0-3) |
| 43′ Noa Lang – GOAL (1-3) |
| 47′ Martin Odegaard – GOAL (1-4) |
| 48′ Leandro Trossard – GOAL (1-5) |
| 73′ Martin Odegaard – GOAL (1-6) |
The Gunners, however, seem to be frustratingly followed by VAR controversy this season, and so too does Lewis-Skelly after being sent off in Arsenal’s defeat to West Ham recently.
Champions League officials are expected to have far more experience than those in the Premier League, though they can clearly still catch flack from some of the world’s most experienced former referees.
VAR could have really changed the game at the Philips Stadium, had Merino’s goal been disallowed or Lewis-Skelly sent off, but the Gunners were able to return to England with quite the victory.
While Arteta’s team may face issues of having no recognised striker in the team, once coming up against a heavy-hitting in the competition, those concerns will be considered anytime soon.