Mike Dean makes his stance clear on penalty given against Arsenal during 1-1 draw vs Everton

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has backed Darren England’s decision to award Everton a penalty against Arsenal in the Premier League. He admitted that it was a soft one, and the contact started outside the box at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was deemed to have fouled Jack Harrison in the box in the 49th minute of the Premier League clash. Speaking on Sky Sports, Dean claimed that it was not wrong to give Everton a penalty and hinted that it was a decision that could have gone either way. He said:

“There’s a bit of contact outside and there’s a little bit of contact inside. I think it’s a soft one. It’s probably not wrong, but it’s a soft one.”

Sky Sports pundit and former Premier League player Michael Dawson stated that it was not the right call. He claimed that there was no contact inside the box and said via TBR Football:

“I don’t know why Lewis-Skelly doesn’t go to attack it… Harrison gets the wrong side of him. I think this is awfully soft, but it’s gone to VAR… I can see why it was given in real time. But watching it again, there’s hardly a touch.”

Iliman Ndiaye converted the penalty to make it 1-1 against Arsenal, who took the lead via Leandro Trossard in the first half. The Toffees held on and managed to get a point from the game.

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Mikel Arteta uphappy with Everton penalty against Arsenal

Mikel Arteta spoke to the media after the Everton draw and admitted that he was not sure why the penalty was given. The Arsenal manager claimed that the Toffees could not get close to scoring in the game and were gifted the chance by his side.

He said via Football London:

"Second half we want them to start good, start to dominate the game, they're going to be more aggressive, have more spaces. We did the opposite, we gave the ball straight to the keeper, direct play, trouble, again direct play and the referee decides to give a penalty. That changes the course of the game, which I'm here to give my opinion."

"I've seen it 15 times, there's no way, in my opinion, that's a penalty. Because if there is, then O'Brien has to be out and Everton has to play with 10 men, that's clear. After that again, we dominated the game. We didn't get too much momentum because he's constantly breaking the play and a big part of that was down to us, because after direct play we get very cheap free-kicks away."

Arsenal are now 11 points behind Liverpool, despite playing a game more than the league leaders. They host Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals first leg on Tuesday, April 8.