Shane Duffy has claimed that Emile Smith Rowe told him that he had ‘cramp’ that’s why he went down during Arsenal’s goalless draw at Brighton, as he told Sky Sports.
Late in the game at the Amex Stadium, there were shouts for a penalty after a challenge from Duffy on the Arsenal ball-carrier.
Duffy came across Smith Rowe and did well to physically bully him off the ball and win the ground duel.
There were some cries from the Arsenal players, but not much from the player himself, even though he did go down and it looked like he had been fouled.
VAR did check the penalty claim, but in the end, nothing came of it.
After the game, Brighton’s hard-hitting centre-back shared what the Arsenal playmaker told him and his verdict on the penalty shout.
“With me? Oh, no,” said Duffy. “I spoke to him (ESR) after and he just said that he went down because he had cramp.
“I think I just got there with him and used my body to see it out, so I think you can read on that as well.”
Both Smith Rowe and Duffy produced outstanding performances during an evening of football that threatened with a lot, but in the end, produced very little.
The home side will feel that they should have found the back of the net, given the number of chances they created for themselves, especially in the first half.
But that doesn’t mean that Mikel Arteta’s side didn’t have their chances because Smith Rowe, in particular, would have felt that he should have scored.
He was put through on goal and was too hesitant in his decision-making, with his shot on goal a wasted chance because he could have gone across the keeper or laid the ball across the box to his teammate.
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