Possible penalty: Maupay foul on Gabriel
What happened: In the 65th minute, trailing 1-0, Arsenal were on the attack when Idrissa Gueye was brought down inside his own area by Gabriel. Referee David Coote gave the free kick to the home side, but there was a VAR check for a penalty with the Gunners claiming Gabriel was actually fouled by Neal Maupay, which caused the defender to fall into Gueye.
VAR decision: No penalty.
VAR review: Arsenal can consider themselves unlucky with this decision, because while Maupay is positioning his body to receive the loose ball there is a definite argument that he fouls Gabriel -- even though he isn't aware the Arsenal player is coming in from behind him.
The VAR, John Brooks, acknowledged there was contact, but not enough and considered that Everton had possession. The incident fell below the threshold required for a VAR intervention.
Maupay doesn't just make a small amount of contact on Gabriel, he essentially places his right foot fully across the body of the Arsenal player, which pushes Gabriel's left leg into his right. If Coote had awarded this as a penalty, there's no chance it would have been overturned.
Howard Webb, the Premier League's new chief refereeing officer, is eager for a VAR only to intervene when it's absolutely clear there has been an error, hence a high threshold, but this incident must be right on the borderline.
