'Really unusual': Alan Smith says Arsenal star did something he has never seen before in 1-1 draw vs Brighton
01/05/2025 03:45 AM
Arsenal saw their title hopes dented with a 1-1 draw against Brighton on Saturday.
The Gunners are now five points behind Liverpool in the Premier League – who have two games in hand – after a penalty from Joao Pedro cancelled out Ethan Nwaneri’s opener in the 16th minute at the Amex Stadium.
It was a very controversial decision from Anthony Taylor to award the Seagulls a penalty, as William Saliba actually appeared to get a touch of the ball before his head collided with Pedro’s inside the box.
As Sky Sports showed replays of the incident, Alan Smith made an interesting remark when speaking live on commentary duty.
Alan Smith claims William Saliba foul was an unprecedented moment
The man who scored 113 goals in 340 games for Arsenal described the clash between Saliba and Pedro as a “really unusual” moment – stating that he has never seen a player give away a penalty for such an act.
Smith said: “Really unusual. I don't think I've ever seen a player give away a penalty like this.”
It truly was a unique incident.
Had this sequence of play occurred outside of the box, we highly doubt a foul would have been awarded either way – it was simply a clash of heads after both players got a bit of the ball each.
However, VAR felt there was “sufficient contact” on Pedro from Saliba – hence why the penalty was given.
Mikel Arteta also feels Arsenal were punished by a freak decision
Speaking about Taylor’s decision in his post-match interview, Mikel Arteta agreed with Smith that it was a bizarre moment.
The Spaniard said: “I’ve never seen a decision like this in my career. I asked the boys if they had and nobody has seen it before. If you look at the incident, the distance, Joao Pedro touching the ball then Saliba touching the ball, you can see contact on it.”
In real time, it did appear as if Pedro had smartly nodded the ball past Saliba and drawn the contact, although when you slow the footage down – as VAR would have presumably done – you can see the France international makes a connection with the ball too.
Therefore, Arteta – who wants Matheus Cunha signed from Wolves this month – and Arsenal fans have a right to feel aggrieved by this rare penalty decision.
