Arsenal get new offside goal verdict after Wolves controversy and missed decision

Arsenal may have been fortunate in their win over Wolves, with two own goals and perhaps a fortunate decision from the match officials before one of those went in.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes officials were right not to flag Bukayo Saka for offside in the lead-up to Arsenal's opening goal against Wolves. It came as the Gunners won the match against the side at the bottom of the league in quite dramatic circumstances.

Saka's corner kick struck off the post and then the back of Sam Johnstone to open the scoring with an own goal in the last 20 minutes, but they were unable to find comfort in that lead. Tolu Arokodare equalised in the 90th minute to seemingly earn Wolves an unlikely point.

However, another Saka cross into the box found the head of Yerson Mosquera, who put the ball into the back of his net for another own goal. There was some fortune in both goals, but one missed moment of officiating may have added some luck on the side of Arsenal.

For the opening goal, a corner was won from a ball over the top to find Saka, though the Wolves defender was cautious and put it out of play. The Arsenal winger was offside in the build-up, with many believing that his presence was enough to interfere with play and warranted a free-kick against him, rather than a corner.

Gallagher discussed the incident on Sky Sports' Ref Watch, when asked about the possibility of there being an offside call. He said: "At that point, he's in an offside position. Has he committed an offside offence?

"There's two things to it. At that point, the assistant has to let the game play out, which he does. Does he play the ball? No. Does he move towards an opponent? No. Is he impacting? Possibly.

"But what does happen is the defender takes ownership of that situation. He decides to play that ball. That's his choice. Once he plays that ball and mis-controls it, Saka is no longer offside."

Former player Jay Bothroyd disagreed, as he said: "I disagree with you on this one. I think Saka is impacting the play because he is making the defender make a decision. The defender doesn't know if Saka is onside or offside.

"Maybe this is another grey area where the rules can be modified in some sort of way at the end of the season. Ultimately, that should be looked at and we can say, he was offside, so it was the wrong decision to give that corner because he was in an offside position. If he doesn't head it and Saka controls it, he's offside."

In the end, the ball went out for a corner, and Saka's peach of a delivery was simply unstoppable, giving his side the lead. The match and the fortune involved were perhaps something of a warning shot to Arsenal, that the Premier League title race is far from over with plenty of months left to go.

The Gunners look slightly drained from the amount of games they are playing, along with several injuries stacking up across the squad. Fortunately for Arteta, there is now a small break that his side can enjoy, not having to feature in action again until Saturday against Everton.

It's the first time that the side have had a midweek off since late August, showing just how difficult the fixture schedule has been to handle. Now there is an opportunity to rest up and go again, before matches in the Premier League, Carabao Cup and the Champions League.

With the gap at the top sitting at just two points, Arsenal need to find the form that has seen them become the most consistent team so far this season.