Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes Kai Havertz should have been sent off before scoring the winning goal in Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Havertz’s 86th-minute header settled a fiery contest thsat saw Declan Rice open the scoring only for Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale — recalled to the side due to David Raya’s ineligibility against his parent club — to gift Yoane Wissa an equaliser in first-half stoppage time.
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Havertz settled the contest late on but only after he had earlier been booked for an elbow on Kristoffer Ajer before going down under minimal contact from Nathan Collins in the 66th-minute, prompting a VAR check for a penalty.
Nothing was given and Havertz escaped censure despite appearing to fall easily, much to Frank’s irritation.
“Havertz is a clear, clear dive,” said Frank. “I wish they would just admit it. I don’t know if he has because that happens all the time, every week someone is doing it. I know it happens.
“That should of course been a second yellow and a red card. And then he wouldn’t be able to score the winner and hopefully maybe we would have gained a little bit more momentum, maybe to win the game.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised Havertz;’s contribution after the £67.5 million summer signing from Chelsea endured a slow start to his Gunners career before hitting top form of late, netting four goals and two assists in his last four Premier League games.
“If somebody told me after the first two or three months that the whole stadium would be singing his song with that passion, with that feeling, with that chemistry, I would have found it hard to believe,” said Arteta. “That’s what happens to good people. He’s an exceptional player.
“When he starts to score goals like this and everything starts to flow people feel more connected with him. They see his work rate, they see his intelligence, they see how he plays for the team and how he’s contributing. It’s impossible not to love him.”
Arsenal’s victory sent them top of the league by a solitary point ahead of Sunday’s meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield.
