Former referee backs Arsenal complaints amid Liverpool's late winner at Nottingham Forest

Arsenal thought they were heading toward jubilance as the minutes and seconds ticked down between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp’s side on the precipice of dropping two massive points that the Gunners had picked up themselves only weeks prior. However, a refereeing drama opened up the pathway to Darwin Nunez’s 99th-minute winner to break Forest and Gunners’ hopes and see maximum points returned to Merseyside.

The victory means that Arsenal must win away at Sheffield United on Monday night to close the gap back to just two points before Liverpool travel to Manchester City next weekend. However, fans launched complaints at Paul Tierney’s decision to hand possession to the visitors despite blowing up when Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi had the ball due to a head injury to Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool would restart the play and within a couple of minutes of the restart have the ball in the back of the net. Former referee and now officiating analyst for Forest Mark Clattenburg criticised the decision, backing the Arsenal fans' claims at full-time.

"[Forest] should have had the ball back," Clattenburg told BBC Radio 5 Live. «If the referee stops the game, he has to give the ball back to the team in possession. That was Forest.»

He revealed that he was later denied access to the referee's quarters whilst manager Nuno Espirito Santo refused to be drawn on the matter. When asked about it he simply said he didn’t want to comment on the referee.

On Match of the Day, former Forest midfielder Jermaine Jenas labelled it a «shocking decision» whilst Alan Shearer described it as a «big clanger». Liverpool will not care as they continue to secure victories despite missing many key players ahead of that trip to the Etihad