Owen Hargreaves spotted an ‘irate’ Jordan Henderson after Arsenal got a dubious penalty call against Liverpool on Sunday. The Reds’ captain ‘never gets like that’, says the pundit.
Liverpool lost 3-2 to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon but it took a dubious penalty to see them off. Michael Oliver pointed to the spot after minimal contact by Thiago on Gabriel Jesus, with VAR not having a say.
Ian Wright labelled the decision as ‘soft’ after the game – and that’s how most saw it. Thiago barely touched the forward after going for a ball he was entitled to play for.
Liverpool argued vehemently against the decision, to no avail. Owen Hargreaves was particularly taken by Jordan Henderson’s reaction, who was ‘irate’ at the call.
“Jordan Henderson, he was irate and he never gets like that,” Hargreaves told Premier League Productions. “Even he realised that their season is slipping away.
“A moment like that can change a season one way or the other and [Liverpool] had a sense that it was soft.”
Henderson didn’t just approach the referee, after all. He consistently argued with Arsenal players in the aftermath. As Hargreaves says, it’s not something typical.
Jordan Henderson left ‘irate’ against Arsenal
It certainly feels as though that decision cost Liverpool some serious momentum. The momentum that they could sorely use right now after yet more dropped points in the Premier League.
But in truth, Henderson’s frustration won’t have just been at the decision. Liverpool were subpar once again, incapable of controlling the game as they usually would.
All three Arsenal goals came down to questionable defending, with or without the dodgy penalty call. Liverpool could have come away with a point, certainly, but it wouldn’t have been a fully deserved one.
We’re angry at the decision – it’s a point that would have been great on several levels – but we can’t afford to solely focus on the penalty. Liverpool, at the end of the day, failed to play at their best level once again.
