Dermot Gallagher has offered an insight into the conversation between VAR and Chris Kavanagh during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Saturday at Anfield.

There isn’t a Premier League game without any controversy and this title tussle produced another one that will be talked about for a while.

Liverpool felt that Martin Odegaard handled the ball just inside the penalty area and he should have been punished, the on-field call was waved away.

But now Dermot Gallagher has shared that he heard the conversation between Chris Kavanagh and VAR, who decided against punishing the Arsenal captain because they felt ‘he slipped’ and ‘his arm is coming in towards his body and making himself smaller’, as he told Premier League Productions (23/12/23 at 8:15 pm).

Just for context, Dermot Gallagher felt that the wrong call was made and Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty.

Usually, Mikel Arteta is pretty vocal about these calls, but surprise, surprise, he doesn’t have much to say this time around because he knows his team are fortunate – Mohamed Salah’s brilliant effort was cancelled out by Gabriel Magalhaes’ opener.

Either way, it proved to be a major call in the game, as ex-referee Dermot Gallagher explained in detail.

Martin Odegaard handball v Liverpool

“I do agree (that a penalty should have been awarded),” said Gallagher.

“When I first saw it, I thought he was slipping. I can understand the referee on the pitch not giving it.

“The VAR felt that, with the subjective nature of handball, he thinks he is slipping and his arm is coming in. If you see that last picture, it looks as though he moves towards the ball and I think the more acceptable decision would have been a penalty.

“I could hear them speaking. I heard him say back to Chris Kavanagh that ‘he has slipped and his arm is coming in towards his body and he is making himself smaller’.

“Whether he has felt that and he isn’t seeing it like we have or whether he hasn’t seen the angle like we have. But, without doubt, the last angle we see is the most damning one. You see his arm come in and, without doubt, he plays the ball.”

Manchester City the real winners?

The Premier League’s top three dropped points this weekend, whilst the Treble winners, Manchester City added another trophy to their cabinet when they won the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

That’s a big win for Pep Guardiola’s side, who are sitting fifth in the Premier League table and six points behind the leaders with a game in hand.

Man City just haven’t been themselves this season and you just wonder if this Club World Cup win will now galvanise them.

If it doesn’t, then it makes things far spicier and better in the Premier League title race.

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MICAH RICHARDS DELIVERS VERDICT ON TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD’S PASSING AFTER LIVERPOOL’S DRAW V ARSENAL

Liverpool and Arsenal shared the spoils in their Premier League title tussle at Anfield on Saturday.

After Aston Villa dropped points at home to Sheffield United on Friday night, it opened the door for either team to take advantage and sit top of the tree at Christmas.

One man who has hit some serious form for Liverpool of late has been, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It was his quite stunning assist that allowed Mohamed Salah to equalise after Gabriel Magalhaes’s opener, with Micah Richards labelling the forward-thinking fullback as ‘absolutely special’, as he told Match of the Day.

That’s four goal involvements for Trent Alexander-Arnold in his last six Premier League matches and further proof that he is back to his best.

Forget about defenders, not even midfield players can pass the ball better than the 25-year-old.

That’s why the Anfield academy product is so valued by the Liverpool supporters, with Micah Richards giving him his flowers.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s passing

“He is absolutely special,” said Richards. “Trent Alexander-Arnold was just exceptional, especially with his passing.

“But it’s not just his passing, it’s the space he creates for himself to make these passes. He just knows when to pass it, the weight of the pass is just brilliant as well to set up an attack. I don’t know a defender who can set up attacks like this. One of the best I have seen in the Premier League.

“57 Premier League assists – it’s unbelievable. Watching him and how modern-day fullbacks have evolved, it’s just brilliant to see, it really is. The link-up between him and Salah was brilliant.”

Arsenal top at Christmas

Before this gameweek, many felt that it would be Villa who would be top at Christmas because they had the easier game of playing Sheffield United at home.

As a result, many also predicted a score draw between Liverpool and Arsenal, which would have then kept Villa at the top.

But a point for Arsenal was enough for them to, once again, be the kings at Christmas.

Last season, they fluffed their lines and blew up during the last six weeks of the campaign. Their problem now is that they have a lot more pressure and teams hunting them down.

Whilst Arsenal have yet to prove whether they can do it, Liverpool have been there and done it, so this title race, with Manchester City set to return to action after Club World Cup duty, is set to become very interesting.

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‘Amazing’… Alisson says 24-year-old might just have had his best game for Liverpool

Alisson Becker was thankful for his defence as Liverpool battled to a 1-1 draw with Arsenal tonight.

It was a good game on Saturday evening, as either side could have taken three points. In the end, some sloppy attacking play from Liverpool and some good defending at the other end of the pitch meant they settled for just one.

There were some excellent performances across the team – as well as some poor ones. But in it all, one man really stood out for the Reds: Ibrahima Konate.

Ibou was colossal from start to finish against Arsenal. And speaking to LFCTV after the game, Alisson paid tribute to the 24-year-old. Asked whether it had been Konate’s best game for Liverpool, the goalkeeper said that it might just have been.

“Yeah I agree, one of the best,” Alisson admitted. “Ibou, everybody knows how strong he is and he’s improving season after season. As he’s a big man. strong man, I think nobody realises it but he’s still young and he’s improving, being a more mature player alongside Virgil – who had an amazing game as well.

“They had an amazing game because the other players helped them to do their job. In one-v-one situation against Martinelli, against Saka, against Gabriel Jesus, they are amazing strikers. What they did, the way they played, the way they defended was amazing.”

Konate takes Alisson praise

We actually think Konate’s best performance for Liverpool was the Champions League final in 2022. The Frenchman was absolutely immense that day, although the Reds ended up losing to Real Madrid.

But perhaps tonight’s display against Arsenal may just run it a close second.

Konate stood up against absolutely everything the Gunners threw at him this evening. As Ali says, Van Dijk also deserves praise for that.

But keeping up the trend we see of teams leaving Virgil alone and attacking on the other side, Konate had more to do.

Every time Arsenal had a shot on goal, Ibou seemed to be in the way of it. He stopped several dangerous looking counters, including one inch-perfect tackle on Martinelli.

There was one slight blot on Konate’s copybook, as one late surge up the field with the ball almost led to a late Arsenal counter-attack. But in pretty much everything else, Liverpool’s No.5 came out on top.

Bizarrely, Sky Sports failed to recognise this and hand him a well-deserved Man of the Match award. Instead, William Saliba was given the gong for a nothing like as influential display.

Konate may have been robbed of that, but just like Alisson, we saw how good he was tonight. Top class, big man.