Martin Odegaard’s 72nd-minute strike earned Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Hull City on Saturday, sending the Gunners into the international break top of the Premier League and sparing VAR another weekend of intense examination. The Odegaard winner spares VAR scrutiny that would surely have followed had Arsenal dropped points after a first-half penalty was overturned due to an offside in the build-up.
The captain’s close-range finish, his fourth goal in as many league games, was enough to secure a fourth successive top-flight win and lift Arsenal to 27 points from 10 matches — equalling their best start under Mikel Arteta, set in 2022-23.
Havertz penalty shout overturned
The game’s major flashpoint arrived before the break when referee Farai Hallam was instructed to review a shirt pull by Nobel Mendy on Kai Havertz. With the crowd already celebrating what seemed a certain penalty, Hallam reversed his decision after being shown that Havertz had been offside in the phase of play leading up to the incident.
The call revived memories of Liverpool’s frustration last weekend, when they were denied a VAR penalty for a similar shirt pull by Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber on Alexander Isak. This time, Havertz’s visible reaction to the tug may have helped draw attention to the offence, but it was not enough to prevent the offside ruling from taking precedence.
Offside law remains a grey area
The decision highlighted the complexity of the offside law when a foul occurs before an offside offence is completed. If an offside player is fouled while running towards the ball, the foul is deemed to have come first — a principle designed to stop defenders from freely fouling attackers who are already in an offside position.
Past examples have produced conflicting outcomes. In 2019, Harry Kane won a penalty for Tottenham in a north London derby despite being offside when fouled. Two years ago, Newcastle were awarded a spot-kick after Adam Smith pulled back an offside Fabian Schar. Yet last December, Brentford’s Dango Ouattara had a penalty against Leeds overturned because he was ruled offside.
VAR Michael Oliver judged that Havertz was the only attacker who could have been involved in the play, making the offside decision the fair outcome. The interpretation left many supporters confused, but it ensured the debate would not overshadow the result.
Arsenal’s defensive solidity continues
Odegaard’s goal was Arsenal’s 34th 1-0 win under Arteta, the most of any Premier League side since his appointment in 2019. The Gunners have now won their last 10 home games in all competitions, keeping eight clean sheets in that run.
Despite sitting top, Arsenal remain the lowest scorers among the top four. They have not scored more than twice in the league since the opening day, when they put three past Coventry. Arteta acknowledged the need for greater efficiency in front of goal.
“We need to be more efficient,” he said. “We had one-on-one situations with the keeper, a penalty shout and other chances inside the box. Sometimes we try to score the perfect goal against a low block. We need to be more chaotic and score earlier, because that changes the course of the game.”
Arsenal are without Bukayo Saka, who has a quadricep injury, while Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis have struggled for consistency since returning from hamstring problems. Viktor Gyokeres remains second choice, and Arteta is still searching for the best way to utilise Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.
Even so, nine wins from 10 league games represents a formidable start. If Arsenal maintain that pace, they could defend their Premier League crown and secure back-to-back titles for the first time in 100 years.
