Ian Wright told Match of the Day 2 on BBC One that Cedric Soares ‘impeded’ Patrick Bamford and Leeds should have had a penalty during their defeat against Arsenal on Sunday.
There were a number of controversial penalty shouts during the match, two were actually given in favour of Bukayo Saka – one of which was later overturned – but it was the one that Leeds didn’t get which caught Wright’s eye.
It was at 4-2 where Leeds felt that they should have had a spot-kick because they felt Patrick Bamford was fouled as he ran inside the penalty area.
Wright admitted that the Leeds star was ‘sandwiched’ by the Arsenal players, as former Everton midfielder Leon Osman also claimed that had that situation occurred outside of the area then a foul would have been given.
“This was a shaky moment because you are talking about 4-3 then you are getting real Newcastle vibes coming into my head,” said Wright.
“Once he has got through I am thinking to myself, he [Cedric] has impeded him. That’s going to be a foul outside of the box. I thought they were going to give that.
“I think Leeds might feel hard done by because he was sandwiched out. But they didn’t give it.”
Osman added: “I think he just about gets away with it. Just coming across and getting his body in. You are right. What’s crazy is outside of the penalty area, it would have been given as a foul. But not always inside the penalty area.”
After 47 minutes, it seemed as though the game was over, as Arsenal were in cruise control and deserving of their 4-0 lead.
But then Leeds, in their own typical fashion, fought back and it seemed as though a comeback was on the cards.
If that penalty was awarded, then it would have been a seriously nerving ending for Arsenal, and you would have perhaps backed the Yorkshire outfit to get the fourth given their never-say-die attitude.
But it wasn’t meant to be as the damage was done early on by the hosts.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
