Alexander Isak has claimed that he does not feel he should need to dive in order to win penalties after confirmation arrived that he should have been awarded a spot-kick against Arsenal.

The Liverpool striker was clearly pulled back by Jurrien Timber as he went up for a header in the first half of the match, and though referee Andy Madley saw nothing doing – and the VAR inexplicably agreed – it was ruled by the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel that a penalty should have been awarded.

Isak doesn’t think he should need to dive

There has been a debate ever since Liverpool’s defeat against Arsenal about whether players are more and more having to exaggerate contact or ‘sell’ penalties to referees in order to highlight legitimate fouls.

According to Isak, though, this should not be the case. Asked about the panel’s findings in a video relayed by Aftonbladet, the No. 9 admitted that he was so focused on scoring that he did not think to hit the ground, but insisted that his actions should not have affected the decision.

“Yeah, looking back, I suppose it does look that way [that it should have been a penalty], but when you’re in the moment, you don’t always perceive exactly what’s happening,” he said.

“I could feel myself being pulled a bit, but not to the extent that it appears later on. I mean, I was focused on scoring. It’s hard to try to score and then fall down at the same time. I was so locked in on the goal that I didn’t really register it.

“I don’t think there’s any need to embellish or go down on purpose. Sure, if I’d had a better read on the situation, I might have made sure the referee noticed it, that’s about all you can do, but I don’t believe you need to dive or exaggerate in situations like this.”

“Perhaps it shouldn’t even matter that much, given that we have VAR and systems in place to make the decisive calls in these kinds of moments.”

Arsenal fans may argue that Isak’s comments are confirmation that Timber did not affect the striker as much as has been claimed. However, players go down under less contact all the time. It is no longer the deciding factor at play.

Sadly, had Isak gone down, he would almost certainly have been awarded the penalty, either by Madley or by the VAR team. With Liverpool well on top in the game, it could have made all the difference and propelled them towards an important victory. Isak deserves credit for his honesty, but it is now even more clear that he was simply let down by the match officials.