EX-PGMOL CHIEF GIVES STRONG VERDICT ON CONTROVERSIAL DECISION TO ALLOW EZE’S FIRST GOAL VS SPURS TO STAND

Eberechi Eze was the man of the moment on Sunday as Arsenal, amid a raft of injury issues, reigned triumphant in the first North London Derby of the 2025/26 campaign against Tottenham Hotspur. With a hat-trick of goals encapsulating the playmaker’s rousing performance, there were question marks raised over his second strike of the affair – and former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has now provided his verdict.
Richarlison, in the 55th minute, may have caught David Raya off his line with his wonderfully-lifted effort over the Spanish goalkeeper – but there were very few moments from a Spurs perspective to lift bums off seats. That isn’t the case for Arsenal, who have now won four straight consecutive matches against their arch-rivals, and they have Eze to thank for his three-goal haul.
There were no problems with his second and third strike – but the England international’s first goal, four minutes shy of the half-time interval, raised the eyebrows of the travelling Spurs contingent. Eze was found by compatriot Declan Rice, and he carefully skipped beyond two challenges before netting past Guglielmo Vicario. His shot managed to evade the number of Arsenal shirts between him and the goal.

Keith Hackett Provides Clear Verdict on Whether Eze’s Second Goal Should’ve Been Disallowed

And that’s exactly why Arsenal’s second – and Eze’s first – of the encounter was highly contentious, as Vicario claimed that he was unable to see because of the melee of bodies in his eyeline. Referee Michael Oliver awarded the goal in controversial circumstances before VAR checked and cleared the 41st-minute strike which saw the Gunners double their lead before the half-time whistle.
The Premier League – in the hopes of clearing up the situation – took to X (formerly Twitter) to suggest there were no Arsenal players were in Vicario’s line of vision. “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that there were no Arsenal players in the line of vision of the goalkeeper, and they made no movement to impact an opponent while in an offside position.”
Hackett, speaking to Football Insider, believes that Oliver and his refereeing entourage made the right decision on Sunday by allowing Eze’s goal to stand amid cries from those associated to the visiting side. “I think, from my point of view, when you actually look at replays, you can see the goalkeeper has got a good sight line – and there’s distance from the goalkeeper and the players that are offside,” he said.

“Now, there are three Arsenal players standing in an offside position. That, in itself, is not an offence. So, what we have to look at is whether any of those three are interfering with an opponent?” And to do that, are they preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball? The answer is no. Are they obstructing the opponent’s line of vision? No. Are they challenging for the ball? No. I’m not going to rule that out.”
Yesterday, in the Manchester City vs Newcastle game, we had a player in an offside position – similar, just the one, and the goal was allowed to stand,” Hackett continued as he reflected on decisions over the weekend. “So, I’m for consistency and I also don’t think offside should be used as a means of ruling out good goals.”
As a result of their 4-1 drubbing over Thomas Frank’s side, Arsenal have extended the gap at the top of the 2025/26 Premier League to six points in front of second-placed Chelsea – as they look poised to end their two-decade-long wait for success in England’s top flight. Spurs, elsewhere, have dropped to ninth in the standings and will be looking to get back to winning ways against Fulham next weekend.