Martin Odegaard 'very fortunate' to avoid conceding a penalty at Anfield

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was "very fortunate" to escape punishment after handling the ball in the area during the first half Liverpool's Premier League clash with Arsenal on Saturday.

That the view of former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, on punditry duty for Sky Sports at Anfield.

"I think that’s a penalty," he said. "He’s very fortunate there, Odegaard."

This view was echoed during the half-time break by former Arsenal man Theo Walcott, who said he'd "want that" if it was his team.

As Trent Alexander-Arnold's deflected free-kick was flicked on by Mohamed Salah, the Norwegian, standing just inside the penalty area, leant into the ball before flicking it away with his left hand.

VAR review

Play continued after the incident, with Arsenal breaking on the counter-attack with a VAR review ongoing.

However, officials at Stockley Park eventually deemed it was not a clear and obvious error that needed overturning.

The saving grace for Odegaard, according to Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville, was that there was a "slip".

"That right leg is giving way which means his left arm goes down. I think that’s what saves him. I think he’s lucky but it might be that his foot gives way which means he puts his arm down to try and rebalance and that saves him."

The incident left Liverpool fans incensed at the time, with the team trailing 0-1 to Gabriel's early header.

However, Mohamed Salah eventually levelled the scores moments after the incident with an excellent finish.