According to a report by Evening Standard on Saturday November 7, 2026, Arsenal were left frustrated after being denied a penalty during their Premier League clash with Hull City on Saturday, following a controversial VAR decision involving Kai Havertz and defender Nobel Mendy.

The incident occurred in the first half at the Emirates Stadium when Havertz went down inside the penalty area after Mendy appeared to pull his shirt.

Referee Farai Hallam initially identified the foul, prompting celebrations among Arsenal supporters who believed their team had been awarded a spot-kick.

However, following a lengthy VAR review, the referee was advised to check the pitchside monitor before eventually overturning the decision.

The explanation was that Havertz had been in an offside position during the build-up to the incident, resulting in a free kick for Hull instead of a penalty for Arsenal.

Interestingly, VAR acknowledged that Mendy had pulled Havertz's shirt, but the officials decided that the offside position prevented Arsenal from being awarded the penalty.

However, BBC Sport football issues correspondent Dale Johnson questioned the decision, insisting that Arsenal should have received a spot-kick.

Johnson explained that a player being in an offside position does not automatically mean an offside offence has been committed.

According to him, Havertz would only have committed an offence if he had attempted to play the ball, challenged an opponent for it or interfered with an opponent.

He argued that the foul by Mendy occurred before Havertz committed any offside offence, meaning the shirt pull should have taken precedence.

Johnson said: "Havertz did not commit an offside offence, and this should have been a spot-kick to Arsenal regardless of the offside."

The BBC correspondent also referenced a previous incident involving Newcastle United and Bournemouth, when Fabian Schar was in an offside position but was pulled back while attempting to run towards a free-kick delivery.

In that situation, a penalty was awarded following a VAR review, providing a similar example to the incident involving Havertz.

The decision against Arsenal angered manager Mikel Arteta, who was seen having a heated discussion with the fourth official during the first half.

Arsenal players were also unhappy with the decision after initially believing they had been awarded a penalty.