Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy in firm agreement about Everton penalty decision vs Arsenal

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Everton took a point against Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, but a lot of the post-match focus has been on one decision in particular.

The Toffees bounced back after losing to Liverpool in midweek, showing good character to come from behind against the Gunners at Goodison Park.

It is the second time Everton have held Arsenal this season, after the reverse fixture ended 0-0 at the Emirates back in December.

Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal the lead on 34 minutes.

But Everton then found an equaliser through Iliman Ndiaye – starting for the first time since returning from injury – from the penalty spot.

There was controversy about the decision to award the spot-kick – and last night, Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy shared their verdict on Match of the Day.

• READ MORE: What actually happened with VAR during Everton vs Arsenal after fears of rule being broken

Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy astonished over Everton penalty decision vs Arsenal

A long ball over the top by Jordan Pickford put Myles Lewis-Skelly in trouble, with Jack Harrison looking to latch onto it.

The winger came from the outside, with Lewis-Skelly letting the ball bounce over his head.

Lewis-Skelly then tangled with Harrison, before the two players hit the floor in the area.

Referee Darren England blew for a penalty, and VAR upheld the on-field decision.

But on Match of the Day, both Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy felt Everton benefitted from the decision and that it was harsh on Arsenal.

Murphy said: “I personally make him (Mikel Arteta) right. Actually I think it’s a really bad decision, it’s never a penalty to me. If anything you could argue they’re both tugging an pulling each other a bit.

“I think it’s very, very soft. I think either way you look at it… no, not enough to give a penalty for me. And they’re not going to overturn it once they’ve given it. There’s little bit of contact, he actually does, when he falls onto him he does clip his leg, but not for me, no, I think that’s very, very harsh.”

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean also felt Everton’s penalty award against Arsenal was ‘soft’.

Mikel Arteta left fuming over Everton penalty decision as David Moyes refuses to comment

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta – who some Everton fans chanted about during the game – was less than impressed with the decision to award Everton a penalty for the tangle between Lewis-Skelly and Harrison.

He said after the game (via Sky Sports): “There is not enough contact and the contact starts outside. Inside there is nothing.”

David Moyes said after the game: “I’ve watched it zero times and I couldn’t tell you if it’s a penalty or not because I’ve not seen it back yet.

“Whether it was good fortune or whatever, we got a penalty early on which settled us down a bit more. I was much happier with how we performed in the second half.”