Joao Pedro penalty, Darren England nightmare, Rice handball – Arsenal vs Chelsea referee review

football.london reviews the big decisions by the officials after Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea in their latest London Derby, including Declan Rice’s apparent handball, Darren England’s disaster with the advantage rule and Joao Pedro’s claim for a penalty.

Arsenal held on against ten-man Chelsea to secure a vital 2-1 win over their London rivals and recover their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points. After their rivals Manchester City won narrowly at Leeds United, all the pressure was on the Gunners, and it was a tense afternoon at the Emirates.

The game was not without its controversies, however, with Darren England drawing plenty of attention from the home support. And rightly so, with some baffling choices and a questionable understanding of the advantage rule.

Therefore it makes sense for football.london to once again dive into the game’s finer details. Tom Canton and Jake Stokes give the Arsenal and Chelsea perspectives on the big calls.

Declan Rice handball

In the end, it didn’t really matter because Chelsea would score from the resulting corner. But it riled the away crowd both in the ground and online that this was not given in real time.

Tom Canton verdict – Look, if you watch the Manchester City game at Leeds, the ball lands further down the arm on Matheus Nunes than it does on Declan Rice. That’s one part of it, the other is that Rice is clearly challenging for the ball and it lands on him, whereas in the Nunes case, he’s nowhere near as impeded by an opponent, the right call was made.

There is definitely grappling going on elsewhere, but look at any corner Arsenal have got in this game, and the reverse is true. It is an element of the game that truly has not been stamped out by these new rules.

Jake Stokes verdict – At first, I was certain that Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty when David Raya collided with Joao Pedro, but after watching the replay of the incident – probably far too many times – I’m not convinced that Raya ‘fouls’ Pedro. Yes, there’s contact. But Pedro heads the ball, and then Raya catches him with his lower forearm or wrist. It’s not a punch. That said, Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty from that corner for the grappling by William Saliba on Pedro. Saliba has two arms wrapped around Pedro, impeding him from playing the ball. Not to mention Declan Rice, who’s not even facing play, holding Jorrel Hato, and Jurrien Timber, who’s got two arms wrapped around Trevoh Chalobah.

Joao Pedro penalty claim

David Raya had an immense performance for Arsenal and was certainly a contender for the man of the match award. However, even he didn’t escape some focus, coming out to punch away a corner, Joao Pedro challenged for the ball and got contact on it too and went down.

Tom Canton verdict – I mean, the image that has been doing the rounds on social media that you have probably seen from the reverse angle is entirely redundant once you see the one attached below. Raya clearly gets a big touch on the ball, and if a penalty is given for this, then we’re going to see a lot of penalties.

Jake Stokes verdict – Chelsea should’ve been awarded a penalty for this. Not only does Rice clear the ball with his elbow, but he’s also got two arms wrapped around Hato’s upper body, impeding him from playing the ball. I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t given.

Pedro Neto red card

What was he thinking? Already on a booking for dissent earlier in the game, which he is suggested not to have even realised, and then scythes down Gabriel Martinelli, who is on a very promising attack.

Tom Canton verdict – I do not think any more is needed for this, is there? Besides the argument, a rule change is needed to allow the play to continue if there is an advantage before it is brought back to send the player off.

Jake Stokes verdict – No complaints.

Darren England

Tom Canton verdict – A real mess, truly. One of the most inconsistent officiating displays I have seen, and that benefited neither side.

The lack of advantage shown after David Raya’s two throws sent Mikel Arteta barmy on the touchline and rightly so. He lost control of this game, and it was littered with inconsistencies and varying tolerance levels for the same actions by teams throughout.

Jake Stokes verdict – I think Arsenal and Chelsea can both feel slightly aggrieved with the officiating. While Darren England was quick to book Chelsea players and didn’t award Chelsea at least one penalty, he also didn’t do Arsenal any favours. England stopped Arsenal from mounting numerous counter-attacks when he could have very easily played advantage. It’s as if England felt he had to compensate the other for his previous error. It snowballed, and he made a right mess.