Why Liverpool Were Not Awarded Penalty After Gabriel’s Handball in Defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates

• Arsenal's Premier League clash with Liverpool was marked by a moment of confusion in the 15th minute at the Emirates Stadium
• The Reds unsuccessfully launched a penalty appeal after Gabriel handled the ball in the area from Diogo Jota's cross
• Referee Michael Oliver opted against awarding the penalty, with the VAR also upholding the decision - much to the chagrin of the Liverpool camp

The Premier League has released a statement explaining why Liverpool were not awarded a penalty after Gabriel's handball during their clash on Sunday, October 9, at the Emirates Stadium.

At the time, Liverpool were trailing their hosts by a goal scored courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli after just 58 seconds.

The Reds thought they had a perfect chance to restore parity 15 minutes later, after Gabriel handled the ball inside the area from Diogo Jota's cross.

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However, referee Michael Oliver opted not to award a penalty, with VAR also failing to overturn the decision after a review.

The decision did not go down well with the Liverpool camp, with the club's set of players and fans insisting they deserved to have been awarded a spot-kick.

Why Liverpool were not awarded penalty after Gabriel's handball

The Premier League has now explained that a penalty was not awarded due to Gabriel’s close proximity to Jota and the ball when the cross was played.

In a statement shared by the governing body after the match, the Premier League said via Metro UK:

"The proximity of the player whose hand or arm makes contact with the ball to where the ball was struck from will still be an important consideration for officials when making a decision to award handball or not."

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Meanwhile, despite being able to finally restore parity through Darwin Nunez in the 34th minute, Liverpool were unable to withstand Arsenal's pressure.

Mikel Arteta's charges netted two more goals via Bukayo Saka to see off the Reds, whose only other goal came through Roberto Firmino.

Fans divided on Arsenal's Premier League chances

Earlier, Sports Brief reported football fans have expressed their opinion on Arsenal's chances of winning the Premier League table this season.

The Gunners once again proved they are the team to beat in the title race on Sunday, when they swept aside Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

Despite their epic win over the Reds, a section of fans contend they are far off from challenging for the EPL crown.