Arsenal won in the 97th minute against Bournemouth – but now Richard Keys has questioned the legitimacy of the winning goal itself
(Image credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Arsenal should not have had their 97th-minute winner against Bournemouth stand on Saturday, according to Richard Keys.
The beIN presenter has been accused this season of having a "weird vendetta" against Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, raging about the Basque boss's touchline demeanour and questioning the Gunners for what he deems to be "over-celebrating".
But while the former Sky anchor claimed that he was fine with the manner with which they celebrated their dramatic last-gasp win over Bournemouth at the weekend, he did question how the goal was even allowed.
Arsenal netted in what was almost the final kick of the game to snatch three points from the brink of a draw (Image credit: Getty Images)
"I’ve no problem with this [Arsenal’s celebrations] because that’s a dramatic way to win a football match," Keys said on beIN SPORTS.
"I would ask about the time of the goal as 97 minutes had been played. I think Bournemouth will have reason to think, 'where did you find that time?' The referee will have a reason.
"It was a dramatic afternoon and this is developing, for me, into an Arsenal season and they keep passing every test that they have been set."
"There were six minutes added on, you can see that in the top corner, and we were just approaching the 98th minute when Reiss Nelson scored," co-host Andy Gray added.
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Richard Keys and Andy Gray had questions over the refereeing during Arsenal vs Bournemouth (Image credit: Brian Rasic/Getty Images)
Arsenal will, of course, argue with Keys' assessment. The Gunners were denied four handball shouts across the 90 minutes, while Cherries keeper and captain Neto was time-wasting from an early stage of the game. Bournemouth had a player down injured in stoppage time, accounting for the extra minute added.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
