When the linesman on Monday night flagged to rule Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang offside, we all assumed it must have been close, but it wasn’t even a hard call.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford on September 30, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 30: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford on September 30, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Linesmen are supposed to keep their flags down because of VAR. If there is the possibility that a goal will happen, they are to flag after the ball hits the back of the net to signal VAR needs to check.

Somehow, it seems that instruction hasn’t made it’s way to those running the line in Arsenal games as time after time this season we’ve seen flags go up for marginal calls which were too tight to make with the naked eye, only to find after the fact that the Arsenal player was onside all along but, well, it’s too late now because the whistle went.

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Daily Mail 1 October 2019
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Daily Mail

Thankfully Kevin Friend delayed blowing his whistle until Auba had chipped the keeper. Had he blown a second earlier, we’d have no goal to talk about and Auba wouldn’t have had his seventh league goal in seven games this season.

Anyway, no doubt the lineman will be back running the line again this weekend.