- Sport
- Football
VAR checked Eze’s first goal after there were Arsenal players in offside positions but ruled they did not make an impact
Jamie BraidwoodSunday 23 November 2025 18:17 GMTComments
CloseMikel Arteta ‘confident’ Bukayo Saka will sign new Arsenal contract
Get the Adam Clery Football Column. A newsletter that unpacks the absurdities and oddities of the beautiful game
The ACFC newsletter: unpacking football’s absurdities
Unpack football’s oddities with the ACFC newsletter
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Eberechi Eze’s first goal against Tottenham in the north London derby has reignited the debate around the offside rule in the Premier League.
The Arsenal forward found space inside the Tottenham box to slam the Gunners into a deserved two-goal lead before half-time at the Emirates.
But Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario appealed that he could not see the ball because there were offside Arsenal players blocking his view.
Martin Zubimendi and Leandro Trossard were stood offside as Eze shot through the bodies (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)- Arsenal vs Tottenham live: Eze stars as Spurs slammed for lack of ‘courage’
VAR checked the incident, and a statement from the Premier League Match Centre said: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that there were no Arsenal players in the line of vision of the goalkeeper, and they made no movement to impact an opponent while in an offside position.”
Eze’s goal comes just a few weeks after Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser against Manchester City was disallowed because Andy Robertson was ruled to have made an “obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper” while being in an offside position.
Replays showed that Martin Zubimendi and Trossard were both blocking Vicario’s view of Eze’s shot while standing in an offside position, although they were also stood behind Tottenham defenders Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso.
On Sky Sports, former Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand was critical of Tottenham’s defensive approach to the derby but said he couldn’t understand why the Eze goal was not disallowed.
Arsenal are FLYING!Eze doubles their advantage on derby day! 🔴 pic.twitter.com/YbS8SSQ9Yd
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 23, 2025
“I will say, I don't understand how this [Arsenal players] doesn't affect the goalkeepers sight [on the second goal],” Ferdinand said. “I'm not sure how that's not been looked at."
Eze went on to complete a hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-1 win, becoming the first player to score a north London derby hat-trick since Alan Sunderland in 1978.
More about
Eberechi EzePremier LeagueLes FerdinandTottenham HotspurJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
