Why Kai Havertz's goal for Arsenal was ruled out against Aston Villa

An uncharacteristically tight-lipped Mikel Arteta would not offer more than three words when pressed on the controversial refereeing decisions in Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday night.

"Clear and obvious," Arteta repeated.

Arsenal's manager, the same one who unleashed a furious tirade against the officials after his side's similarly narrow 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in November, refused to reveal his "big opinion" concerning the penalty appeal and equaliser that his side were denied.

Here's a look at the incidents that left Arteta bottling up his indignation.

Why was Kai Havertz's goal for Arsenal ruled out against Aston Villa?

Arsenal had been swept along by Aston Villa's fast start, falling behind to John McGinn's intricately crafted opener after seven minutes. However, the Gunners grew into a hostile atmosphere and dominated the remainder of the contest. As Villa's goalkeeper Emi Martinez admitted, the hosts were "suffering against Arsenal for 85 minutes".

The clock had just ticked into the final minute of regulation time when Kai Havertz bundled the ball over the line. Yet, the German's celebrations were cut short by the referee's whistle. Without the intervention of VAR, Jarred Gillett had spotted an attacking handball amid the scramble.

Martin Odegaard's cross towards the back post dropped on top of Havertz who was already entangled with the retreating Matty Cash. Before poking in Arsenal's short-lived equaliser, Havertz brushed the ball with the top of his right hand.

As Law 12 in the FA handbook explicitly states, a handball has been committed if a player "scores in the opponents' goal...immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental".

While Arteta could have no quibbles with the decision to disallow Havertz's goal, he may have questioned Cash's innocence in this incident. Odegaard's cross first bounces off Havertz and onto Cash's outstretched arm, striking the Premier League badge on the sleeve of the defender's shoulder - this is narrowly above the infamous 'armpit line' used as the boundary for what part of the body would lead to a handball.

Ultimately, the officials in Stockley Park must have concluded that the ball didn't strike Cash's hand - a call that is difficult to make even with the benefit of multiple angles and replays.

Yet, the controversy didn't end there.

Why were Arsenal not given a penalty against Aston Villa?

While the initial line of post-match questioning revolved around Havertz's handball, Arteta was subsequently asked about the challenge from Douglas Luiz on Gabriel Jesus at the start of the second half. "I think that is even clearer," was all Arteta would offer.

Embodying Arsenal's high-energy approach, Jesus pounced upon Luiz's loose touch inside Villa's box. The visiting number nine got his neon boot to the dropping ball before Luiz, who couldn't stop mid-swing and connected with Jesus' heel.

"I felt a touch," Jesus recounted after the match, "but I don't know the rules so probably for them it's no penalty I can't do anything. I felt someone touch me and anyway, it's their decision."

Events earlier in the day made the decision to wave away Arsenal's appeals all the more surprising. Liverpool's Jarell Quansah caught Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta while challenging for a low cross at Selhurst Park. The on-pitch official Andy Madley let the play continue while VAR John Brooks scrutinised the replays. Almost two minutes later, with the ball still in play, Madley was directed to the pitch-side monitor before awarding Palace a penalty.

The VAR in charge of Arsenal's trip to Villa Park, Michael Salisbury, would have examined the tangle between the two Brazilians, but he didn't come to the same conclusion as his colleague a few hours earlier.

Evidently, Salisbury had decided that no "clear and obvious" error had been made. Perhaps that's what Arteta meant.

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