Arsenal is losing title because of the defensive wall!?

It was immediately clear that something was wrong, but no one was absolutely sure until Sky Sports officially confirmed it: referee Anthony Taylor positioned Arsenal’s defensive wall too far back during the free kick that Bruno Fernandes converted into a goal, giving Manchester United the lead—and ultimately securing them a point in the big Premier League derby.

This mistake could very well have handed the title to their bitter rivals, Liverpool, all because of Taylor’s significant error. Using modern technology, Sky calculated that Arsenal’s wall should have been a full meter closer. According to the rules, the wall must be positioned 9.15 meters (10 yards) from the taker, but Taylor set it at 10.24 meters (11.2 yards).

If anyone thinks that’s insignificant, United’s Christian Eriksen, who has scored eight Premier League free-kick goals in his career, made it clear:

"That’s a big difference. You don’t have to hit the ball as high, you don’t have to calculate how far they are or how high they can jump. It was easier for Bruno. He executed it brilliantly, though the fact that the wall was about 15 meters away certainly helped," Eriksen joked before adding in a more serious tone:

"I saw it immediately. It was obvious even before the shot. Though, the same thing happened in the second half when they had a free kick. But this time, it worked in our favor."

Arsenal wasn’t as lucky, as Noussair Mazraoui realized what was happening and protested when United’s wall moved slightly forward. No one in the Gunners' squad thought to do the same. Even manager Mikel Arteta didn’t hide the fact that his players shared the blame.

"Bruno was smart and took advantage of the situation—that’s football. He was smarter than the referee. That’s fine, it was allowed," Arteta said, shrugging helplessly.

Declan Rice didn’t shy away from responsibility, both personally and as part of the wall.

"I felt like some of us held back while others didn’t, though I haven’t seen the replay. It also seemed like the ball went just over us. We did suspect we were too far back. But the same thing happened later when Martin Odegaard took his free kick. That was the referee’s decision."

And it was also the responsibility of the wall. Mazraoui noticed something was off, protested, and United’s wall adjusted slightly forward—Odegaard then fired straight into them. Bruno’s shot was better, but he also had a much better situation.

"It was obvious in both free kicks. But when the decision favors you, you stay quiet. When it’s for the opponent, you push the limit because the difference is huge. In the end, it was fair—one for us, one for them. But we had Bruno, and that made all the difference."