Relying on Rodri's second-reading kill, Manchester City struggled to maintain the momentum of the winning streak at the Emirates Stadium, extending the winning streak against Arsenal to 10 games, while extending the lead in the table to 11 points with one more game.
However, the result and process of this game caused an uproar after the game, and the ambiguous penalty of the referee on duty, Stewart Artwell, did it stifle Arsenal's wonderful performance, but as the fans said, Manchester City's victory was only lucky thanks to the help of the referee?
One thing can be confirmed, Manchester City's win is indeed a fluke, but it is not dependent on Atwell's help, may wish to explore and discuss.
The focus of the controversy in this game is nothing more than 3 aspects: 1. Is Ederson's action to put down Edgar Edgo when blocking a foul? Why didn't Atwell go see VAR? 2. Is Xhaka's foul against Bernardo Silva really a penalty? Why did Atwell go to see VAR? 3. Was Gabriel's 2nd yellow card too strict? Rodri's 3 ferocious shovels were not punished.
Let's start with Ederson's move to bring down Edgo.
After Erdgau fell to the ground, Atwell signaled that it was a corner kick, which showed in his mind that it was not a foul. After VAR intervened, the video assistant referee suggested to Atwell that it was not considered a penalty, and since he had already preconceived, Atwell naturally would not go to see it. Although the media continued to zoom in and slow down the picture later, and concluded that Ederson first touched The Ball of Erdegaard and then touched it, at that time, it was difficult for the referee to make the most accurate judgment, and it was reasonable not to judge.
Let's talk about Xhaka's penalty that brought down Bernardo Silva.
Atwell's first reaction at that time was also that it was not a foul, but after VAR intervened this time, it was clear to see that Xhaka had a foul action of pulling the jersey, and after Alver personally confirmed it, there was no problem in changing the penalty. From the perspective of the whole process, There is nothing wrong with Atwell's approach, which has caused controversy, which is nothing more than the solidarity of why Erdegaard fell and did not award a penalty.
Finally, let's talk about Gabriel's 2 yellows and 1 red.
The moment Gabriel dragged down his Brazilian compatriot, he didn't expect to be yellow carded, there were 2 defenders of his team behind him, and the position was good, even if Jesus burst through, it was not an absolute chance to score. Therefore, Atwell's yellow card was really harsh, which directly led to a reversal of the situation on the court, and the Gunners' defensive core was sent off, laying a hidden danger for the final killing.
Rodri had ferocious tackles against Saka, Martinelli and Lacazette, but Atwell only judged the foul and did not say anything. From the perspective of slow-motion replay, with reference to Gabriel's penalty scale, Rodri's foul moves are up to the standard of yellow cards, and the suspicion of double standards is too big. It wasn't until Rodri stripped out to celebrate after the killing that Atwell showed him a yellow card.
If Rodri is sent off, where will City come from?
In short, in this game, the Blue Moon wins in experience and the Gunners lose on the details. The Gunners played very well before Xhaka committed a foul, but Xhaka's habitual edge-scraping foul ruined the Gunners' brilliant New Year's Day afternoon. Gabriel's yellow card could be given, but considering that he already had 1 yellow card, this second yellow card was given too harshly and destroyed the balance of the game. As for Rodri, it seems that he should also be punished.
Obviously, this is another game that was ruined by the referee, and the young gunners showed their strength and exposed their problems, but the rise of the gunners is unstoppable.