Pundits say Gabriel Martinelli’s goal at Old Trafford wasn’t a foul, should have stood

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink called the decision to disallow Arsenal’s first goal against Manchester United on Sunday “ridiculous.”

After Martin Odegaard stole the ball from Christian Eriksen and sent Gabriel Martinelli in alone on goal, Mikel Arteta’s team felt they had grabbed the lead.

The Sky Sports pundits criticized the Dane for being too “weak,” but VAR overturned the goal on the grounds that Odegaard fouled Eriksen.

Hasselbaink declared: “I think it’s absurd to go back to that” at halftime. It’s not a foul, in my opinion. Just weak there, Eriksen. They claim to have changed and will now be more forgiving.

“Yes, Odegaard doesn’t make contact with the ball, but you can make contact with players,” the referee said. He’s acting flimsy. It’s not a foul in my book.

There’s no need for you to touch the ball. He doesn’t kick the athlete. He’s simply making contact, which is acceptable. How come that’s a free kick?

Roy Keane, a fellow analyst, agreed but said he understood why it was called a foul.

Several players were engaging in it during the first half, according to Keane. When they are touched, they are still lying flat.

READ ALSO: Barcelona agree deal to sign Hector Bellerin from Arsenal

Arsenal leads Man United in the race to capture Real Madrid star, ‘Asensio

Despite how the game is going, I suppose that is a foul even though I don’t like to watch it.

When the Arsenal captain advanced from behind Eriksen to win the ball while giving the Dane a small push to the back, Eriksen found himself in trouble.

Before Paul Tierney was told to check the monitor, the Norwegian threaded a pass through to Martinelli, who made no mistakes in curling the ball past David de Gea.

After giving it some thought, he concluded that Odegaard’s play had been overly aggressive.