Arsenal manager Unai Emery bemoaned the "very soft" penalty decision that helped Liverpool to a 3-1 victory over his side at Anfield.
The Gunners were already trailing to Joel Matip's first-half header when David Luiz was penalised in the 48th minute after appearing to tug Mohamed Salah's shirt inside the penalty area.
Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot without hesitation and after a swift VAR check, the decision to award a penalty stood.
Salah made no mistake from the spot before adding his second shortly after and despite Lucas Torreira's late consolation, the visitors knew there was no chance of a comeback.
But in a surprise move, Emery defended the Brazilian's challenge - suggesting there wasn't enough contact to warrant a penalty being given.
“The penalty was the key to the game but it was very soft,” Emery said.
“If that is considered holding then I don’t think it was enough. It was disappointing to concede a goal at that time in the game because we had done quite well in the first half, we made two or three chances to score and we were defending their crosses very well.
"We can be optimistic for the future, I thought [Joe] Willock and [Nicolas] Pépé played well. We wanted to keep the ball more but Liverpool’s press was very strong.”
After being punished for his defensive error, Luiz sought to explain his actions and revealed his former Chelsea team-mate Salah told him he didn't feel the contact.
"You cannot take that out of the players, now you cannot see with the VAR, the power (of the shirt pull is different), but I cannot complain because it is the same for me," Luiz told Sky Sports.
"If you play with an extra-large shirt now, it could be a penalty all the time, but this was just reflex.
"It depends on interpretations. Mo is my friend, he said he did not feel it."
