Arsenal supporters were left scratching their heads after being denied a penalty for a handball during their Premier League win over Bournemouth.
The North London side appealed for a penalty as they chased an equaliser after Bournemouth broke the deadlock at the Emirates with the second fastest Premier League goal in history.
With Arsenal on the attack, Chris Mepham jumped in the box to attempt a header but missed the ball and it struck the player’s arm.
Referee Chris Kavanagh waved away the appeals from Arsenal players, and even VAR did not intervene.
The reason was that it was deemed accidental and his arm not in an unnatural enough position to justify awarding a penalty.
Arsenal were looking to reclaim their five-point lead over Manchester City against Bournemouth.
But they were shocked by a Philip Billing goal after only nine seconds and found themselves 2-0 behind as Senesi doubled Bournemouth’s lead on the hour mark.
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A defeat looked likely at that stage but Arsenal battled back and scored two goals in eight minutes through Partey and Ben White to level the game.
Arsenal pressed for a winning goal but it looked like they would have to settle for a point until Nelson got the winner with a 97th-minute strike.
The victory sends Arsenal five points clear of Man City and 14 points ahead of Manchester United, who have two outstanding games and visit Liverpool tomorrow.
