Alan Shearer admits he was ‘glad’ VAR could not disallow Arsenal’s controversial equaliser

Arsenal took the lead against Tottenham on Wednesday night thanks to a controversial corner, with the ball having clearly come off Leandro Trossard last

Alan Shearer breathed a sigh of relief as VAR couldn’t intervene to disallow Arsenal’s first goal against Spurs.

The north London derby saw the Gunners welcome their arch-enemies on Wednesday, with both teams diving back into Premier League action after the FA Cup. It was Tottenham who drew first blood 25 minutes in, thanks to Son Heung-min’s strike from just outside the box.

Arsenal levelled the score 15 minutes later amidst a bit of a stir. Leandro Trossard challenged Pedro Porro down the left flank, and although Porro seemed to have blocked Trossard’s cross, the ref Simon Hooper called for a corner.

However, replays indicated that the ball last touched Trossard. Under current rules, VAR doesn’t review such situations unless the review is centered on goals or potential red cards.

To make matters worse for Spurs, Gabriel met the corner at the far post and nodded home off Dominic Solanke’s midsection. Trossard then bagged a second, securing a turnaround victory for Mikel Arteta’s squad, reports the Mirror.

Shearer admitted that Spurs had every right to feel aggrieved, but he pointed out their persistent weakness in defending set-pieces.

Speaking on Match of the Day, he said: “And rightly so [Spurs will be angry]. It’s a poor decision, it clearly comes off Trossard last. But how many times have we said it, again Tottenham concede from a corner.

“What they do also is try to reduce the numbers, they leave two up. But again they’re all over the place. Gabriel wants it more than Dragusin, he’s got the flight of the ball and again Spurs were weak at a set-piece and were punished again.”

When asked if the rules around VAR should be changed, Shearer said: “No I wouldn’t like it, no. They’ve had enough problems with VAR anyway so to give them extra responsibilities!”

However, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou refused to blame the referee for his side’s defeat, instead saying: “Nowhere near good enough, especially in the first half. We were too passive. We let Arsenal dictate the game. Second half was a little better but nowhere near good enough. Not acceptable.

“Ultimately the responsibility lies with me and how I prepare the players. I’m more interested in how we play and we were not anywhere near the levels today. Go back to work and prepare for a tough game.

“Of course they [defeats] hurt me. Not acceptable. Too many losses this year. Too many games getting away from us. It needs to stop. No other way of looking at it. If you give up now, there’s no point. Right now we have a big game against Everton this weekend. That’s our focus.”