The crucial moment in the game came seconds before half-time when a penalty was awarded after Mehdi Taremi hit Merino on the hand following a corner.

It was a decision that might not have been made in the Premier League as referees have moved away from handing out “soft penalties” since this season.

“There are only minor changes and tweaks to our approach to handball as to where we are going with it,” former referee Kevin Friend revealed before the season., external

“We saw some soft penalties in handball last season. So we’re basically looking for examples where the arm is clearly hit unjustified, with the hands above the head or away from the body to intentionally stop the ball from going into the penalty area or into the goal.”

This differs from the rules in UEFA competitions and this deviation caused frustration among the experts on Wednesday.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said on TNT Sports: “Is the arm in an unnatural position? That is not the case. We’re having this debate again and it’s ruining the game.”

“There are fine gaps, I don’t think it’s a penalty. The unnatural rule, who makes these rules? Did they play the game?”

Former Gunners defender Matt Upson added live on BBC Radio 5: “It goes to my head how they apply this law in Europe.”

“We are miles ahead of that in the Premier League, the referees have a sense of proximity, the speed of the ball and all those things were tick, tick.”

“It’s just a bit of common sense.”

Regarding the incident with Merino and Sommer at the other end of the pitch, former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott said on Match of the Day: “Merino gets into a good position and (Yann) Sommer comes and hits him physically.”

“He was very unlucky not to get the penalty and Arsenal were a bit unlucky.”