Joao Pedro shares how he actually feels about William Saliba's foul on him for Brighton's penalty vs Arsenal
01/05/2025 03:55 AM
Joao Pedro was at the front of centre of controversy after winning and subsequently scoring the penalty that led to Brighton & Hove Albion drawing 1-1 against Arsenal.
William Saliba tried to contest a header with the Brazilian international, who fell to the ground after the Frenchman made contact with him. However, there seems to be a debate over whether the contact was severe enough to be deemed worthy of a spot-kick.
Gary Lineker’s verdict on Joao Pedro’s penalty was that it was a poor decision as he has “never” witnessed a spot-kick being awarded due to a clash of heads.
VAR’s explanation about Brighton’s penalty was that Saliba made enough contact for them to consider his challenge a foul.
Arsenal dropped more points and if Liverpool win their two games in hand, there will be an 11-point gap between both sides now.
In the aftermath of the contest, Joao Pedro was asked about his honest view about the decision.
Joao Pedro says William Saliba “hit” him before Brighton’s penalty vs Arsenal
The former Watford striker did not shy away from admitting that Saliba made enough contact with him for referee Anthony Taylor to warrant handing Brighton a penalty against Arsenal.
Pedro said via Brighton’s official YouTube channel: “I just made the touch and tried to control the ball and he hit me but yeah, I always train penalties in training and I could score today.”
Some angles suggest that Saliba made no contact with the ball while others suggest he did get a nick.
As a result, it was a difficult decision for the officials to make as another weekend of Premier League football has been marked over further discourse regarding refereeing decisions and discourse around VAR.
Arsenal’s next five Premier League fixtures after drawing to Brighton
Mikel Arteta will be disappointed after Arsenal’s hopes of winning the title further dampened against Brighton but ultimately, he will understand that his side must move on swiftly and focus on what’s ahead.
The title race is far from over, even though the Gunners’ five league games are extremely tricky.
Matches against Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Wolves and Manchester City stand out while a relegation-threatened Leicester City will be play with their lives on the line at the King Power Stadium.
Unless Arsenal go on a winning run, this upcoming run of fixtures could decide the title in Liverpool’s favour once and for all.
