05 December 2023 , 12:38
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Ian Wright believes it is "ridiculous" that Trent Alexander-Arnold's stunning free-kick in Liverpool's dramatic 4-3 win over Fulham on Sunday went down as an own goal.
Liverpool took the lead after a brilliant set piece from Alexander-Arnold, with his curling effort flying over the wall and rattling the bar before ending up in the back of the net. But midway through the second half, it was ruled the strike was in fact an own goal.
It was decided that Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno had the decisive touch, but Arsenal legend Wright believes Alexander-Arnold should have been awarded the goal. Speaking on The Kelly and Wrighty Show, he said: "How can they not give that first one to Trent, they're saying that this is an own goal?
"Look at that. It's ridiculous not giving him that goal. I don't know if that's coming out if it doesn't hit his head."
Alexander-Arnold was also left "gutted" after being denied the goal, admitting after the match: "I prefer going that side and using the wall as a guide to get round, but it was a little bit outside the goal frame.
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"It was just get it on target, see what I can do and that's what I did. I've been told it's been chalked off as an own goal now so I'm a bit gutted. It was a good strike of the ball and good to be involved in the goal in any way I can."
However, he did ultimately score Liverpool's winner in the 88th minute, keeping them just two points behind league leaders Arsenal. "[I'm] just delighted really," he added. "It's big. We needed the three points obviously. With Arsenal getting the result yesterday, we just needed to try to stay in touching distance.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's stunning free-kick went down as a Bernd Leno own goal (PA)"This time of year is important, the games come thick and fast and if you can pick up momentum and get through the Christmas [and] January period with a lot of wins then you come out and go into February and March in a good position, so this isn't the right time to be dropping any points, especially at home.
"It was a very proud moment for me and a good finish as well, to be fair. Of course it can't [always be perfect]. You've got to dig deep and find a way to get results. As much as you want to play well and win by three or four and have it plain sailing and cruise through a game, that's never really the case.
"Sometimes you've got to win in different ways. Although we didn't play particularly well, we dug deep and we had our moments and we took our chances. There's a lot for us to learn but the most important thing in football is it's a results game and it's a results business and three points is up for grabs and that's our aim in every game we go into. It's vitally important for us to get that today."