Gary Neville gives definitive Tottenham penalty shouts verdict before Saka goal for Arsenal
Gary Neville reckons Michael Oliver was right to wave away two quickfire penalty shouts from Tottenham shortly before Bukayo Saka netted at the other end to turn the screw in Arsenal's favour during their North London Derby showdown at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal underlined their title credentials with a rampant opening 45 minutes in which Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, via an own goal, Saka and Kai Havertz put the away side in control. However, there was a big talking point in the build-up to Saka scoring as The Gunners hit their fiercest rivals on the counter attack.
Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison both took a tumble in the Arsenal area, marshalled by Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice respectively, but neither challenge was deemed to be illegal by the man in the middle. After casting an eye on the replay, meanwhile, Neville agreed with those calls.
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Commentating on the match for Sky Sports, the ex-Manchester United defender turned pundit said: «That second one definitely not, the Maddison one was obvious at the time, he just fell to the ground. The Kulusevski one, there was a clip of the heels.»
Neville, who initially thought there might have been contact for the Kulusevski appeal, added: «On the first angle I saw [that] there's a clip of the heels [from Trossard].
»He loses his balance in the end. No, it's not a penalty."
Should they hold on for victory, Arsenal would go four points above champions Manchester City — who are ready to take on Nottingham Forest in a 4.30pm kick-off — at the Premier League summit. Defeat for Tottenham, though, would
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