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Thomas Frank believes Arsenal match-winner Kai Havertz should have been sent off for diving before scoring the winning goal against his Brentford side.
Havertz settled the Gunners’ game against Brentford with a 86th-minute header to send his side top of the Premier League table – but 20 minutes earlier was facing accusations of diving after going down under Nathan Collins’ challenge.
The German attacker was already on a booking and Brentford players Ivan Toney and Vitaly Janelt protested at referee Rob Jones that Havertz should have been handed a red card – with manager Frank strongly believing that a sending off was the right decision.
“I actually think, and I would never normally do this, but I think Havertz shouldn’t be on the pitch when he scored the goal,” the Brentford manager told Sky Sports after the game.
“For me, it was a clear dive – the penalty shout. If you see that slowly back, it’s clear. Maybe, it’s difficult for Rob the ref but the linesman should have seen it, in my opinion, clearly.”
Havertz was initially booked in the first half for catching Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer with a flailing arm.
The Brentford account on X, formerly known as Twitter, also pleaded for a sending off for Havertz, claiming Arsenal were “lucky to still have 11 [players on the pitch]”.
Havertz’s two incidents in pictures
Havertz was shown a first half yellow card for this elbow on Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer
Then in the second half, Havertz goes down under a challenge from Nathan Collins
The referee gave nothing despite Arsenal’s calls for a penalty, and Brentford’s calls for a yellow card
What the pundits said: ‘Havertz is very lucky’
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:
“It [the first challenge] is a yellow card. He’s got a history of doing that [catching players with his arm]. I remember him doing that a few times at Chelsea. He throws his elbow at people.
“The referee is not in a great position to see this [the second incident] so unless he actually gives the yellow card then VAR can’t intervene anyway, but he is lucky. There’s no contact at all and he is looking to gain an advantage there.
“He’s got to be sure. He’s got a really good position but if he’s not sure then he can’t give it.”
Sky Sports’ Karen Carney on the second incident:
“Havertz is looking for it and the contact is after that. Havertz has also got to be thinking he’s on a yellow, this is risky.
“He’s looking for it [the penalty] and he’s very lucky. At that speed and the pressure, it would have been difficult for them to spot that.”
Arteta: Ramsdale showed courage after error
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Karen Carney and Jamie Redknapp discuss Aaron Ramsdale’s performance against Brentford following the Arsenal goalkeeper’s sloppy error leading to the Bees’ equaliser. Ramsdale also made good saves in the second half to keep the Gunners in it
Arsenal were chasing a winning goal in the second half after Aaron Ramsdale’s horrendous error to give Brentford an equaliser with the last kick of the first half.
With the opening 45 minutes drawing to a close, Ramsdale was closed down by Yoane Wissa on his goal-line and his clearance ricocheted into the Brentford striker, who cancelled out Declan Rice’s opener.
Despite the error, Ramsdale responded by making crucial saves from Toney and Collins in the second period – with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praising the resilience of his second-choice goalkeeper, who was standing in for the ineligible David Raya.
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Mikel Arteta claimed Ramsdale showed his special personality after making a string of fine second-half saves following a mistake in the first half
“That’s the courage Aaron has,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “That’s his personality.
“Mistakes are part of football and it’s about how you react to that. He did that in a brilliant way. I’m so happy for him and I’m so happy that we won the game as well.”
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