Jamie Redknapp has criticised Arsenal defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for their role in Brighton's equalising penalty during Saturday's 1-1 draw. The former Liverpool midfielder described their defending as 'chaotic' and insisted the penalty decision was correct.
The incident occurred when Saliba was adjudged to have made contact with Brighton's Joao Pedro while attempting to head the ball inside the area. VAR upheld referee Anthony Taylor's on-field call, sparking outrage from Arsenal fans and manager Mikel Arteta, who said he had 'never seen a decision like this in my career'.
Redknapp, analysing the match for Sky Sports, pointed to a lack of composure from the usually reliable centre-back pairing. 'Gabriel gets himself in a mess as he's embroiled with Minteh. Then Saliba faces him up and gets in a muddle. It's chaotic and it's not normally what we associate with them,' he said.
The draw ended Arsenal's run of three successive Premier League wins, leaving them five points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand. Arteta acknowledged his side's second-half performance was below par, saying: 'We gave too many balls away in the second half and we're very disappointed with the penalty.'
