This will drive Villa up the wall: Arsenal’s winner shouldn’t have stood
ARSENAL’S late winner against Aston Villa should have been disallowed due to a new rule on attackers interfering with defensive walls at free-kicks. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 84th-minute free-kick secured a 3-2 win for 10-man Arsenal, but officials missed David Luiz and Calum Chambers standing within a metre of Villa’s wall. Under laws introduced ahead of this season Villa should have been awarded an indirect free-kick. Referee Jon Moss failed to apply the rule and the PGMOL yesterday said it is not in VAR’s remit to check for wall infringements. VAR is supposed to be used to assist the referee in the event of a ‘clear and obvious error’ or ‘serious missed incident’ and that includes those leading to goals.
Sportsmail columnist Mark Clattenburg said: ‘The goal should have been disallowed. An offence has occurred just before a goal is scored, so VAR should be checking it. The goal should have been disallowed and an indirect free-kick awarded.’ Meanwhile, Arsenal agreed to play tonight’s clash against Nottingham Forest just 48 hours after their win over Aston Villa as a goodwill gesture to the Championship club. Arsenal accepted the tight turnaround to help Sabri Lamouchi prepare his side ahead of their vital Championship clash at Stoke on Friday night. Manager Unai Emery is expected to make wholesale changes to the team who faced Villa on Sunday, with Rob Holding in line to make his first appearance since December after recovering from a knee injury. Kieran Tierney, a £25million signing from Celtic, could make his debut.