Webb Arsenal should have had a penalty

 Howard Webb, the chief of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), may be required to issue another apology following referee Chris Kavanagh's decision not to award Arsenal a penalty in their match against Chelsea. The match concluded in an exciting 2-2 draw, with goals from Cole Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk for Chelsea, and Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard for Arsenal. However, controversy overshadowed the game when Kavanagh and the VAR team determined that Robert Sanchez's late tackle on Gabriel Jesus did not warrant a penalty.

This incident resembled Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana's challenge against Wolves at the beginning of the season, which similarly did not result in a penalty. Webb had expressed regret to Wolves fans for that error and had promised to learn from it. However, it appears that this lesson was forgotten when Sanchez's tackle on Jesus went unpunished, leading Alan Shearer to describe it as "terrible." Speaking about Onana's challenge, Webb stated via the Mirror, "Onana jumps into the Wolves player. (Sasa) Kalajdzic is just jumping up and not into Onana, so it's not two players coming together - It's one player going into the other. In the end, we didn't recommend a review." 

"We should have done. We acknowledge that as an error in the opening week, which of course is disappointing. We took the learning from that and (will) obviously try going forward to ensure that type of error doesn't happen again." Arsenal fans have drawn comparisons between Sanchez's challenge and Onana's challenge and are struggling to identify any differences. Shearer believes that the Gunners should have been awarded a penalty and voiced his opinion on Match of the Day, stating, "Sanchez has just come out and he wipes Jesus out."

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"What is key for me is that he catches him in the head. Look, he goes right through him here. It's a terrible challenge. How on earth can the VAR not think that's a penalty and the referee? He is nowhere near the ball. They should have had a penalty, there is no doubt about it." Sanchez was also responsible for Rice's goal, as he gifted him the ball in front of an open net. Similarly, Arsenal's David Raya committed a similar error but faced no consequences. Shearer questioned, "What on earth is he (Sanchez) doing there? I haven't got a clue. Just clear it and get rid of it."

Kavanagh's failure to award a penalty could significantly impact the title race. Arsenal currently sit in second place in the Premier League table, tied on points with leaders Manchester City. If Tottenham secures a victory over Fulham at home on Monday, they will move two points ahead at the top.

 image credit: the independent