Emile Smith Rowe gave Arsenal the lead against Manchester United in bizarre fashion after finding the back of the net while David De Gea was lying in a heap on the ground.
As an Arsenal corner came in, United midfielder Fred stood on the foot of his team-mate who went down on the goal-line just as the ball came back out to Smith Rowe who smashed it into the back of the net.
Pundits Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Patrice Evra all agreed that the goal should have stood – despite De Gea lying down on the floor clutching his foot and unable to make a save.
Manchester United players were left fuming after a controversial goal was awarded to Arsenal
Goalkeeper David De Gea went down in a heap when team-mate Fred stood on his foot
The ball then fell out to Emile Smith Rowe from an Arsenal corner who smashed it past a hapless De Gea
There were several minutes of confusion as De Gea got back to his feet just a minute after Smith Rowe found the net, with Amazon Prime commentator Ally McCoist also agreeing the goal had to stand as there was no foul made by an Arsenal player.
Eventually, with help from VAR, referee Martin Atkinson signalled that the goal would stand much to the frustration of United’s players.
United players gathered around the referee protesting their case but there was nothing they could do.
Martin Atkinson awarded the goal after hearing from VAR to the frustration of United’s players
After the goal was awarded, McCoist said: ‘He’s got to give a goal there’s nothing else he can do.
‘There’s no point shouting at the referee the fact of the matter is there was no foul committed he wasn’t offside there was no infringement.
‘Yes, the goalkeeper was lying down. In an ideal situation if he had seen De Gea lying down he blows his whistle and give Arsenal possession of the ball when the goalkeeper got treated but he never blew the whistle.
Arsenal players celebrate after they controversially took the lead at Old Trafford
‘Never seen anything like that before. I can understand the frustration of United players but nothing the referee can do.’
Replays of the incident showed Atkinson was starting to put the whistle towards his mouth but then stopped as the ball hit the back of the net.
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg told Amazon TV that because De Gea was injured by his own player and that Atkinson had not blown to stop the game before Smith-Rowe struck his shot, the goal should stand.
Manchester United recovered from the disappointment of the goal and got one back through Bruno Fernandes before the end of the half.
At half-time, Amazon Prime’s pundits for the game all agreed that the right decision had been made despite the unprecedented circumstances.
Alan Shearer said: ‘It’s a goal because I didn’t see or hear the referee blow. Didn’t see a serious foul on the keeper.
Amazon pundit Alan Shearer felt De Gea didn’t need to stay on the ground as he was back on his feet a minute after he was trod on
‘Only when you see it close you see his own player Fred actually stands on him.
‘I don’t think I’m being too harsh here, the game hasn’t changed that much, that happens every game where someone is standing on your foot or on your ankle.
‘With him going down like that – not a care to where the ball is. Yes, they hurt but I don’t think he should be staying down like that.
‘He was back on his feet a minute later so couldn’t have hurt that much.’
Thierry Henry added: ‘When the ball went in Alan said it should be a goal and I seconded it because you didn’t hear the whistle before so you’re in trouble.
‘If you blew the whistle before then you can have a discussion. The only rule that I know is you play until the whistle.’
After the goal, the commentators questioned whether Arsenal would let Manchester United through to score an equaliser straight away.
The pundits agreed that Arsenal did not need to let Manchester United score an equaliser – because their was no foul on the goalkeeper.
De Gea was left frustrated though some questioned why he stayed on the ground
Shearer added: ‘There’s an argument if it was a serious injury and he was stretchered off there’s an argument in terms of the fairness of the play.
‘Then you could have asked the question Arsenal could have let them score. But he was up a minute later you get them every game.’
On social media, former players and fans agreed with the decision to award Arsenal the goal.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker reacted: ‘Unusual and unfortunate, but there’s no question that the Arsenal goal was legitimate.’
Former striker Chris Sutton argued the case that the United keeper should have been braver.
He tweeted: ‘If De Gea was that badly injured why is he still on the pitch? Maybe could have been braver…’
Yannick Bolasie tweeted: ‘That has to be a goal,’ while Toni Duggan commented ‘Football never fails does it’.
Ex-England and Liverpool goalkeeper David James posted: ‘Understandable why players are angry, though they probably don’t know what happened.’