Arsenal were denied a penalty in contentious circumstances during Saturday's 1-0 Premier League victory over Hull City at the Emirates, with several outlets reporting that the video assistant referee reached the wrong conclusion. Kai Havertz went to ground under a challenge from Hull defender Nobel Mendy, and what followed left the home bench furious and the home support bewildered.

The incident

Referee Farai Hallam initially allowed play to continue before the incident was reviewed. After several minutes, he was advised to consult the pitchside monitor. According to the Evening Standard, Hallam announced the foul by Mendy first, prompting brief celebrations from the home end, before clarifying that Hull had been awarded a free-kick because Havertz had been in an offside position.

A Premier League statement, reported by Football.London and the Evening Standard, read: "VAR recommended an on-field review for a potential penalty to Arsenal for a challenge by Mendy on Havertz - but determined that Havertz was in an offside position in the build-up."

Mikel Arteta was visibly angry on the touchline and took up the matter with the fourth official before the interval, while frustration was evident among the Arsenal substitutes. The two sides went in goalless.

Why the decision was judged wrong

Dale Johnson, BBC Sport's correspondent on football issues, clarified that simply being in an offside position does not mean a player is active. He wrote that Havertz would have to be "attempting to play the ball, or challenging an opponent for the ball" for the offside to take precedence, adding: "The foul comes before any offside offence."

Johnson concluded that Havertz had not committed an offside offence and that a spot-kick should have been given regardless.

Sky Sport's reported that Mike Dean also admitted Arsenal should have been awarded the penalty, saying the VAR call was the wrong one. The Evening Standard noted the reaction of Arsenal supporters to the decision.

Odegaard settles it

The controversy did not ultimately cost Arsenal. Martin Odegaard struck 18 minutes from time, converting after Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis parried Noni Madueke's effort into his path. That was a fifth straight league victory and a ninth in ten matches, putting the Gunners six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.

Arteta told Match of the Day he was "very happy with the performance, with the victory as well," and said it was "time to praise my players" for what they had produced since the first international break, citing the volume of matches, the quality of the football and the results.

He accepted that his side had made the afternoon harder than it needed to be. "We missed so many chances, situations that are completely open to score a goal," he said, adding that his team had to remain patient until late in the game. He also pointed to the need to control the tempo, explaining that Arsenal had sometimes attacked too quickly in the first half and become stretched, and that shooting brings the possibility of deflections, handballs and rebounds.

Arseblog News noted that Madueke ought to have made the closing stages less tense, but he took too long with the goal open. Arsenal nevertheless held on to finish a week that also included wins at Liverpool and Slavia Prague.

Arteta's side are next in action after the international break, travelling to St. James' Park to face Newcastle United on Saturday 21 November.

Photo: Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, resized.