Gary Neville immediately started teasing Arsenal after West Ham scored their opening goal against the Gunners. The Premier League game kicked off with Jarrod Bowen delivering a pass across the goal for Tomas Soucek, who found himself unmarked in the box and struck the opening goal past David Raya, Arsenal’s goalkeeper.
However, before the goal, the referees initiated a prolonged VAR check to determine if the ball had gone out of play before Bowen reached it. Despite the uncertainty, a few minutes later, the goal was confirmed, even though it wasn’t definitively evident if the ball had exited the field.
This incident mirrored a previous dispute where Arsenal contested a goal against Newcastle, believing the ball had gone out of play during the buildup. Gary Neville, during that time, used Sky Sports to explain perspectives and ball positioning, while Mikel Arteta expressed frustration during a post-match press conference.
Neville later shared a video explaining the situation on Twitter with laughing emojis right after Arsenal’s loss to West Ham, prompting anger from some Arsenal fans. He also posted a picture of himself on X, seemingly peering over a ball close to the by-line.
Former player Jay Bothroyd, who represented Arsenal, Cardiff, and earned one England cap, expressed that VAR should have access to more camera angles in incidents like these. He highlighted the lack of comprehensive views, emphasizing the need for better clarity and resolution in such scenarios, a frustration shared by many in football presently.