Noni Madueke avoided a red card against Liverpool despite appearing to headbutt Alexis Mac Allister.

The Arsenal winger was involved in a flashpoint during the second half at Anfield on Sunday.

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Madeuke and Mac Allister clashed after the Liverpool midfielder had fouled Martin Odegaard.

Jurrien Timber also confronted the Argentina international following the foul.

However, it was Madueke who leaned in towards Mac Allister before he fell to the floor.

Madueke avoids red card

Both Mac Allister and Timber were subsequently booked by referee Andy Madley.

Madueke avoided punishment, though, despite moving his head towards his opponent.

The incident was reviewed by VAR, who deemed the contact not to be forceful enough to warrant a red card.

As a result, VAR official Stuart Attwell stuck with the referee's on-field decision not to dismiss Madueke.

The Premier League Match Centre provided an explanation for the decision on social media.

A post on X read: "The referee's call of no violent conduct by Madueke on Mac Allister was checked and confirmed by VAR.

"VAR: 'All of the situations have been checked and cleared. There is some contact as Madueke and Mac Allister square-up. In my opinion, it's not forceful, not violent, not brutal.'"

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talkSPORT verdict

Meanwhile, Ashley Williams shared his stance on the altercation on The Final Word.

Discussing the incident with Majestic, the talkSPORT co-host said: "No, I'm not having it, I'm not having it.

"Your head has been touched a little bit. If I touch your head now with that much force, you ain't going down like that.

"By the way, he's the one that's going to Odegaard and having a moan about him going down.

"Which was a foul, definitely, and then he's dropping on the floor. What are we doing now?"

Madueke had already been on a yellow card after being cautioned by Madley in the 55th minute.

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He was booked for a cynical foul on Bradley Barcola early in the second half.

The 24-year-old has never been sent off during his senior club career.

His only red card to date came for PSV's Under-19s against Almere City in 2019.

Arsenal end Anfield wait

The altercation with Mac Allister came with 10 minutes remaining in the match as Arsenal defended their narrow 1-0 lead.

Mikel Arteta's side had opened the scoring through Kai Havertz during the first half.

Arsenal held on to secure victory, moving three points clear at the top of the Premier League in the process.

Meanwhile, they picked up their first Premier League win at Anfield since 2012 with Sunday's triumph.

The defending champions have won eight of their opening nine matches.

Those include four successive victories since their only defeat of the season against Brighton on September 19.

It also marked an ideal response to the Gunners' shock Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Fleetwood Town on Tuesday.