Tricky winger, Matt Jarvis was fouled by Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna in the penalty box during Arsenal’s rearranged fixture against West Ham, but he chose to stay on his feet. The referee did not blow the whistle for a foul even though replays suggested it was a mistimed tackle which should have resulted in a spot-kick for the Hammers.
According to the Daily Mail, Jarvis has now said that he should have gone down in order to win the penalty. The game was scoreless when the incident occurred in the 16th minute, and although West Ham initially took the lead just before half-time, Arsenal rallied back to win 3-1 on their own turf.
Jarvis said, “Maybe I should be a bit cleverer and do what other players have. Perhaps then I could have got the penalty. I thought about it too late and then, if I had gone down, it would have been a late dive.”
Instinctually, Jarvis tried and managed to stay on his feet and Arsenal can be thankful for the winger’s morals as some players would have gone down and got the penalty awarded to them.