Arsenal hosted Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium in the English Premier League today as they continued their chase for the league title this season. Mikel Arteta's men cruised home with yet another important victory in the competition as they convincingly defeated Bournemouth 3-0 thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka.
One of the most talked-about things in this match was how the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) gave Arsenal a penalty that wasn't deserved. It all happened in the 42nd minute of the game when Martin Odegaard played in a brilliant through pass to Kai Havertz who tried dribbling the Bournemouth goalkeeper fell easily in the 18-yard box to win a penalty for the Gunners.
Based on my opinion, Kai Havertz intelligently won this penalty for Arsenal in this match. If you watch the whole situation, you will clearly see that Kai Havertz intentionally kept his foot at the back in a delayed movement from him to have contact with the Bournemouth Goalkeeper. The Bournemouth Goalkeeper made no movement to bring Kai Havertz down inside the 18-yard box and this once again goes to show the constant flaws of the VAR.
It seems to have become a norm for us to witness one or two bad decisions from the VAR every weekend. It's either they give an undeserved penalty or deny a clear penalty appeal which has been witnessed repeatedly in the Premier League this season. It's high time mistakes like these are reduced to make the game more fair for all teams involved.