Arsenal legend Ian Wright has suggested that the VAR officials “must have gone to the toilet” after Kai Havertz seemingly escaped a second yellow card for a suspected dive during the Gunners 2-1 win vs Brentford.
The German was instrumental in Arsenal’s victory over the Bees as he scored the winning goal in the 86th minute.
Declan Rice gave Arsenal the lead in the first-half, before a catastrophic error from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale allowed Yoane Wissa to equalize just before the break.
Havertz eventually sent Mikel Arteta’s side top of the Premier League just four minutes before time, but some have argued that he was lucky to still be on the pitch.
Ian Wright’s cheeky VAR jibe after Arsenal win
Havertz was booked in the first-half after he caught Kristoffer Ajer with a stray elbow.
"He is looking for that in my opinion so he's lucky" Karen Carney and Jamie Redknapp discuss Thomas Frank's comments after Brentford's defeat to Arsenal that Kai Havertz shouldn't have been on the pitch to score the winning goal 🤔 pic.twitter.com/dFSU41F6w6
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 9, 2024
After the break, the 24-year-old then went down in the box under minimal contact. Already on a booking, the former Chelsea man escaped a second caution despite appeals from the Brentford players.
And even though VAR cannot intervene with second yellow cards, Wright admitted his surprise that Havertz was allowed to stay on the pitch.
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“I do agree with Thomas Frank [Brentford manager],” Wright told BBC’s Match of the Day. “He probably shouldn’t have been on the pitch for that but he was and I was pleased he was to be honest.”
“I think the assistant should probably be doing more there,” he added. “The assistant should be seeing that.
“They [VAR] can’t be giving a yellow card there but they’ve missed so much. They must have gone to the toilet at that particular time!”
Kai Havertz has been decisive in both of @Arsenal's victories over Brentford this season! pic.twitter.com/EE4MyKj1jA
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 9, 2024
Elsewhere, former Tottenham and Liverpool player, Jamie Redknapp, also agreed that Havertz was lucky to stay on the pitch.
“It’s a yellow card. He’s got history of doing that. He did that a few times at Chelsea, throwing his elbow at people,” he told Sky Sports.
“The referee is not in a great position to see this so unless he gives the yellow card, then VAR can’t intervene anyway. He’s lucky. You can see there’s no contact at all and he’s looking to try and gain an advantage by going down. He’s very fortunate.”