Former referee Mark Halsey says that Arsenal should have had a penalty against Southampton on Sunday and that Bukayo Saka should not have been booked for diving.

Arsenal fans watched on in amazement on Sunday as referee Robert Jones allowed Southampton to play actual rugby with Arsenal players.

Time after time he just waved play on and got no feedback from Peter Banks on VAR.

To compound that even further Jones booked Saka for diving in the first half when he had been squeezed out by two Southampton players.

Writing in The S*N, Halsey said, “Arsenal should have been awarded a first-half penalty when Gabriel Jesus was hauled down by Southampton’s Duje Caleta-Car.

https://twitter.com/Armzinnho/status/1584481058229465088

“The incident highlighted the inconsistency of decision-making by officials this weekend, with Chelsea and Aston Villa benefitting in similar situations.

“Saints defender Caleta-Car wasn’t goal-side and tried to make life difficult for Jesus but he committed himself to a clear holding offence and referee Robert Jones should have pointed to the spot.

“If Jones didn’t see it, VAR official Peter Banks needed to intervene.”

As for Saka, Halsey said, “Yes, Saka initiated the contact, but Jones didn’t need to get his book out. I felt he could have played on and avoided looking for trouble.”

Halsey hasn’t even addressed the other incidents in the game, such as Lyanco’s attempted headbutt of Eddie Nketiah.

In short, as Arsene Wenger would say, Arsenal were not very good against Southampton, and the referee was at our level.