Liverpool and Arsenal told to hire WWE stars after scenes at Anfield – Exclusive
Liverpool and Arsenal played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Anfield in which there were a number of big talking points.
Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz scored quickfire goals to give the Reds a two-goal lead midway through the first half, but Arne Slot’s men were unable to see out a 26th league win of the campaign.
Instead, Gabriel Martinelli pulled one back early in the second half and Mikel Merino equalised with 70 minutes played, before then being sent off soon after.
A point is by no means a bad result for Liverpool against their closest challengers this season, but certain scenes that played out in the game have called on a former official to demand change.
Keith Hackett hits out at what he saw in Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal
Andy Robertson had what he thought was a last-second winner ruled out because of Ibrahima Konate’s shove on Myles Lewis-Skelly.
While ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett believes that was the correct call, he is unsure why similar incidents went punished earlier in the match.
Flagging Robertson’s challenge on Bukayo Saka in particular, Hackett exclusively told Liverpool News: “An assistant less that two metres away fails to flag for a sustained holding offence by Liverpool’s Robertson on Saka.
“Our match officials have really got to stop ignoring these offences. The holding even turned to a wrestle and push on the player’s throat, with Saka ending on the ground.”
| Opponent | Date | Venue |
| Brighton | 19 May | Amex Stadium |
| Crystal Palace | 25 May | Anfield |
Hackett continued: “The goal was correctly disallowed, but the inconsistency of our match officials around pushing in the game is highlighted by this goal being chalked off.
“There are similar offences of grappling in the penalty area going unpunished.
“Howard Webb must grip his officials and declare war on holding, blocking, pulling offences in the penalty area and in other parts of the game, such as the Robertson and Saka incident.
“If I was the boss of a current football team, I would be looking to bring in a couple of WWE stars.”
Liverpool fall short against Arsenal
Throwing away a two-goal lead against a mentally fragile Arsenal side is of course not great, but Liverpool already have the title in the bag.
Slot has earned the right to rotate his Liverpool side as he wishes, and it is now just a case of ticking down the matches as they come with a successful campaign now drawing to a close.