Alan Curbishley controversially thinks West Ham’s quickly-taken free-kick goal against Arsenal shouldn’t have stood and the referee got it ‘completely wrong’, as he told Premier League Productions.
The ex-West Ham boss stated that the initial free-kick was ‘taken from the wrong place’, which saw Jesse Lingard catch a number of Arsenal players off guard, and then lay the ball off to Jarrod Bowen, who slotted home.
A number of Arsenal players got stick for turning their back towards play and not being aware of the danger around them.
But Curbishley thinks the Arsenal players were waiting for the referee, John Moss, to put the ball in its correct place before continuing proceedings.
Either way, Curbishley’s claim won’t please West Ham fans too much.
“Arsenal have got it all wrong,” said Curbishley. “They switch off. No-one’s watching. But the free-kick has been taken in the wrong place.
“It’s at least five to ten yards in the wrong place. John Moss, in my view, has got this completely wrong.
“The Arsenal players are waiting for the ball to be picked up and placed. They have all turned their back on it. They are waiting for the referee to pick the ball up.
“It’s taken quickly and it’s terrible goalkeeping, so I think the whole thing, Mikel Arteta will be so distraught with that and he will say something about it. That it was taken from the wrong place. I couldn’t believe it was given.”
It was a body blow to West Ham’s top-four chances yesterday, but one thing is for sure, they are still well in the race.
It’s a case of ticking away, and if they capitulate like they did yesterday, then they ensure they don’t lose the match.
But one thing is for sure, the Hammers are heading towards Europe which is some doing given what happened last season.
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