Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has voiced his disagreement over Arsenal’s second goal against Southampton, claiming that it should have been ruled out for offside. The controversy arose during Arsenal’s weekend victory at the Emirates Stadium, where the Gunners managed to overturn a second-half deficit after Southampton’s Cameron Archer opened the scoring. Three minutes after falling behind, Arsenal equalized through Kai Havertz, and by the 68th minute, Gabriel Martinelli scored what would become the decisive goal to give Mikel Arteta’s team the lead.
The goal was subjected to a routine check by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a potential offside, but after reviewing the footage, the officials decided to award the goal. The Premier League’s official statement on the Premier League Match Centre X (formerly Twitter) explained the decision: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Martinelli was in an onside position, and it was determined that Mikel Merino had no impact on the play.”
Despite this explanation, Halsey believes the officials made the wrong call. While he acknowledges that Gabriel Martinelli was not in an offside position, he argues that Mikel Merino, who was in an offside position, influenced the play and obstructed goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. Speaking on *The Sun’s* podcast *The Whistle Blower*, Halsey said, “I thought it was offside because if you challenge an opponent for the ball or make an action that impacts the opponent’s ability to play the ball, that qualifies as offside.”
He elaborated by referencing Law 11 on offside, explaining that while Martinelli may not have been offside, Merino’s actions were significant. According to Halsey, Merino made a clear attempt to challenge for the ball by jumping and then ducking his head, which in turn affected Ramsdale’s ability to react. “It was clear that Ramsdale thought Merino was going to make contact with the ball, but when he ducked at the last second, it left the goalkeeper in a difficult position. For me, that means the goal should have been disallowed due to Merino’s impact,” Halsey said.
While Halsey insists that Arsenal’s goal should not have stood, the decision ultimately favored Arsenal, allowing them to hold their lead. Later in the match, Bukayo Saka added a third goal in the 88th minute to secure a 3-1 victory for Arsenal over Southampton.
This win leaves Arsenal in third place in the Premier League table, level on points with Manchester City and just one point behind the league leaders, Liverpool. Despite the controversy surrounding Martinelli’s goal, Arsenal continues their strong campaign, maintaining their unbeaten record for the season.