Arsène Wenger has put blame for the Gunners’ loss to Stoke partially on the officials, but seems to have picked the wrong incident to focus on.

The Arsenal manager was quoted by the Daily Mail after Saturday’s defeat to Stoke saying that Alexandre Lacazette’s disallowed finish was “100 per cent a goal”, but the replays cast a lot of doubt on that certainty.

Meanwhile most fans and pundits are in agreement that Hector Bellerín should’ve had at least one penalty, if not two. At first it was very difficult to see whether Lacazette was offside or not.

Then, when viewing the replays, the key frame selected by BT seemed to show that Lacazette’s foot was just about sticking out behind the Stoke player. Although, there were questions over whether the correct frame was used, in particular from Arsenal legend Ian Wright.

https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/899233041809330177

So it’s not completely clear either way, but Wenger’s claim that it’s “100 per cent” a goal is a bit over the top. On the other hand, Hector Bellerín had more than a decent claim for a penalty, one in each half.

In the first-half, there should have been no doubt, Mame Biram Diouf clattered into Bellerín with the ball already gone and referee Andre Marriner gave a corner. This was despite the fact that Marriner seemed to be perfectly placed to see it, as per our article on the incident.

In the second half there was less in it. Hector was probably fouled, but didn’t go down or make the point to the referee to force him into a decision. These two incidents would’ve been better for the Gunners’ boss to focus on, but ultimately the loss will stand either way.