Shearer claims Arsenal goal should have been disallowed as Ian Wright slams ‘weak’ player
Alan Shearer thinks that the first goal scored by Arsenal against Fulham might not have been valid since Ben White impeded Bernd Leno. On the other hand, Ian Wright has a different opinion and believes that Leno was not strong enough.
The team from north London who are currently leading the Premier League table, extended their lead to five points after defeating Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard was instrumental in the first-half goals scored by Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard, by setting up each of them perfectly.
Nevertheless, Alan Shearer had doubts about the validity of the first goal, which was scored by Gabriel, as he believed that Ben White might have committed a foul in the build-up to the goal.
“It wouldn’t have surprised me [if it had been ruled out] because Ben White is actually blocking the goalkeeper,” said the legendary striker on Premier League Productions.
“By the time he actually unblocks him it’s too late for the keeper to make a decision whether he’s going to come or not.
“The ball is already in the air, it’s practically in the six-yard box. He might not have come for it, or he may have, but that option was taken away from him because of the blocking there.
“It’s a good ball in, it’s a good header, but he is blocking him right up to the very last second, Ben White, so it wouldn’t have surprised me [if it was ruled out].
“Having said that, it wouldn’t have changed anything today because Arsenal were much better than them.”
Ian Wright acknowledged that Arsenal might have been lucky that the officials did not detect any wrongdoing in the build-up to the goal. However, he also expressed his belief that Bernd Leno has a tendency to struggle with crosses into the box, which Arsenal took advantage of in the match against Fulham.
When asked if Alan Shearer’s observation about the goal was valid, Ian Wright did not provide a clear answer. “Well yeah. But at the same time I think it’s because they know Bernd Leno.
“They’ve probably trained with him a lot and know what he’s about in terms of coming for crosses. I always thought that he was pretty weak with crosses.
“And even getting blocked in by Ben White, who’s not actually really physically holding him. He’s just kind of in the way. He could just move him out the way. You [eventually] see him move him, but he should have done that ages before.
“He should not have let him get in front because if he does that the referee would see that there’s interference and he probably would have maybe given a foul.
“We’ve seen how easily they do give fouls against goalkeepers. But I think with Bernd Leno that’s his main weakness, he doesn’t want to come into that area. I think Ben White used his experience in that respect.”
Shearer claims Arsenal goal should have been disallowed as Ian Wright slams ‘weak’ player
