Was Oleksandr Zinchenko offside for the Arsenal Winner? Picture Clears Debate amid Controversy

The
Gunners
came
from
behind
to
secure
a
3-2
victory
over
the
Red
Devils
to
go
5
points
clear
at
the
top
of
the
Premier
League
table.

A
pulsating
encounter
unfolded
at
the
Emirates
as
the
young
crop
of
Arsenal
players
prevailed
over
a
decent
Manchester
United
side,
who
showed
glimpses
of
quality
in
the
game.

Arsenal
Scored
Late
Goal
to
secure
the
Win:

Arsenal
left
it
late
to
win
the
match
and
secure
3
points.
Striker
Eddie
Nketiah
finished
a
poacher’s
goal
to
get
the
winner,
but
the
goal
led
to
a
VAR
check
for
a
possible
offside,
stopping
the
Arsenal
fans’ heartbeat
for
a
moment.

Was
Zinchenko
and
Nketiah
Offside?

In
the
90th
minute,
new-signing
Leandro
Trossard
swivelled
and
ran
through
the
United
defense,
before
teeing
the
ball
for
Oleksandr
Zinchenko
on
the
left-hand
side,
who
then
crossed
infield.
The
ball
took
a
deflection
from
Manchester
United’s
midfielder
Fred
and
Eddie
Nketiah
finished
expertly
to
give
Arsenal
the
winner.

The
VAR
check
showed
Eddie
Nketiah
was
clearly
onside
and
the
goal
was
given.
But
Manchester
United
fans
were
bemused
as
they
claimed
Zinchenko
could
have
also
been
on
a
possible
offside
position
when
Trossard
played
him
the
ball,
as
the
VAR
didn’t
check,
or
at
least
the
check
wasn’t
shown
during
the
broadcast.

But
all
the
uproar
from
the
Red
Devils
fanatics
has
been
put
to
rest
by
ESPN
journalist
Dale
Johnson,
who
shared
a
snap
of
the
play
and
confirmed
the
broadcasters
only
showed
the
Nketiah
incident
after
checking
Zinchenko’s
position,
albeit
was
not
shown
on
TV.

Here’s
the
Oleksandr
Zinchenko
onside
image
for
Arsenal’s
winner
against
Manchester
United.

Sky
didn’t
switch
to
the
VAR
feed
until
after
Zinchenko’s
position
had
been
checked,
which
is
why
viewers
only
saw
the
check
on
Eddie
Nketiah.

#ARSMUN
pic.twitter.com/wKN6NL1jHu

—
Dale
Johnson
(@DaleJohnsonESPN)

January
22,
2023

The
image
clearly
shows
the
Arsenal
defender
was
onside
when
Trossard
released
his
pass,
and
any
possible
negligence
of
VAR
can
be
dismissed.

Mikel
Arteta’s
men
were
outstanding
in
the
match
and
showed
resilience
and
passion
to
come
back
through
Nketiah
after
Marcus
Rashford
scored
the
opening
goal
for
the
visitors.
Bukayo
Saka
gave
Arsenal
a
2-1
lead
at
the
start
of
the
second
half,
which
was
quickly
cancelled
out
by
Lisnadro
Martinez’s
header.
In
the
end,
Nketiah
settled
the
tie
with
his
second
goal
of
the
night
to
secure
a
monumental
win
for
his
team.