‘I think’: Dermot Gallagher shares whether Arsenal should really have been given a penalty against Southampton

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Dermot Gallagher has had his say on the decision not to award Gabriel Jesus a penalty as Arsenal drew with Southampton this weekend.

The referee decided not to give the decision and it wasn’t overturned by VAR either. Jesus thought he was brought down by Southampton’s Caleta-Car, only for the ref to deem it a bit of both in the end. Of course, Jesus wasn’t too happy at the time, as wasn’t Mikel Arteta.

However, speaking on Sky Sports this morning, former referee Dermot Gallagher believes it was the right call in the end.

“Tough call I think, tangle of legs. A coming together, call it what you like it’s untidy. But it seems a little bit unfair when the Southampton player does get the ball there to say it’s a foul. People say well he still catches him afterwards. He does play the ball, he is clumsy, but both going for the ball. I’d side with the referee,” Gallagher said on Sky Sports.

Gallagher is often at the front and centre of these calls every Monday. On this occasion, though, he does seem to have the right reasoning behind what was a big call.

TBR’s View: Jesus Penalty Call Just About Right

Gallagher’s explanation here is bang on and you can see why the referee doesn’t give the penalty to Gabriel Jesus here.

There seems to be big calls every week in almost every game now in the Premier League and often, you can look over and over again and still not come to a decisive conclusion.

However, this one seems clear cut enough and while Jesus will be frustrated, it very much is a tangle of legs as Gallagher refers to it here. On another day, it might well be given, which is where the frustration lies.