The art of buying a penalty: Our experts reveal how Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon do it – and whether Bukayo Saka was robbed

This is the new diving. Throw a leg out as the defender moves in for the ball, make the first contact and then find yourself in a pile. To the naked eye, it is a punishment. Cast iron.

When Bukayo Saka raced towards goal with a chance to make it 3-2 against Bayern Munich in a Champions League quarter-final, it looked like nothing could stop him.

Out came Manuel Neuer, the veteran German with some reputation. At first glance, when Saka was sent scattering, it was no debate. Penalty kick took the German off his leg.

But wait. As the 60,000 Emirates fans were going for the referee’s whistle, Sweden’s Glenn Nyberg blew for full time! A case of referees getting wise or – according to Arsenal supporters – a case of the referee getting it wrong?

Unlike when two decisions favored Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon against West Ham recently (one much to the misfortune of the hapless Kalvin Phillips), or when masters of mischief Wilf Zaha, Jamie Vardy or Harry Kane regularly tried it in the Premier League , this time the referee did not fall for the fall.

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There is little to suggest that Saka, a budding Premier League superstar and also a popular England player, will dive – especially with such a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

But since VAR, the player realizes that diving alone won’t get them a penalty, so the back leg is rising and defenders have to watch out. It’s coming soon to a penalty box near you.

An episode of Dagens Kamp rarely goes by without this new phenomenon, so what do our experts think about it? And how would you feel if Saka, Gordon or Kane did exactly the same at the EC? After all, no one complained when Michael Owen went full Tom Daly in the box.

CHRIS SUTTON – STRIKES JUDGMENT

The old back leg routine is a classic tactic for certain attackers, although I’ve never been inclined to try it. I’d much rather score myself than try to cheat the referee or ‘do a Harry Kane’ as we might be tempted to call it!

Jamie Vardy made a career out of turning 50-50s into 70-30s in his favour, using his speed to fool us into thinking he was cut.

He won a penalty at the Emirates Stadium in February 2016 when he skipped over Nacho Monreal and left a dangling leg to make the contact. But just because Vardy got away with it that time doesn’t mean Bukayo Saka should have been awarded a penalty against Bayern Munich.

Saka pounced on Manuel Neuer. He avoids the challenges of Premier League defenders on a weekly basis and I don’t see him as a drop-downer because he usually maneuvers around them so masterfully.

But for whatever reason, he chose to crash into Neuer on this occasion. This was a classic case of a player wanting to win a penalty.

What made it even more confusing was how Saka could have scored had he stayed on his feet and I can’t help but wonder if it could prove costly for Arsenal in the Champions League. The same supporters who screamed for a foul on Saka would have been livid if this was Kane trying to trick David Raya, especially given his reputation for going to the ground.

I was asked on Wednesday if strikers practice winning penalties in training. That would be pretty pathetic, but then I can’t speak for Jose Mourinho’s Porto team in the 2003 UEFA Cup final! They threw themselves on the deck whenever possible against my Celtic side!

Paolo Ferreira admitted it a few years later. I host the Simulation Game on BBC Radio 5Live, looking at the worst dives of the weekend and naming and shaming the winner. At first I thought we wouldn’t have enough events to analyze weekly. Turns out we have too many to choose from! That’s how widespread it is in the Premier League and I still think there needs to be a hard line to stop divers by issuing a three-game ban. That would soon stop those who like to go for a leg in pursuit of a penalty.

SHOULD ARSENAL HAVE A PENALTY?

No – Saka tried to cheat us all.

MARTIN KEOWN – DEFENDANT’S VERDICT

We have seen in the Premier League how players can get in the way of the tackle to win a penalty. Sometimes by leaving a trailing leg as they fly by.

Other times by putting their foot between their opponent and the ball.

Anthony Gordon won two debatable spot kicks for Newcastle against West Ham less than two weeks ago by doing just that. First by drawing a free kick out of Vladimir Coufal as he tried to win the ball in the box.

Then by doing the same to Kalvin Phillips as he looked to clear his lines. Gordon is a highly gifted footballer who can use his extreme pace to lull the opposition into committing to the challenge and it is up to the referees to decide who is honestly going for the ball and who is simply trying to get the foul.

In my time, I was well aware of the strikers who had a reputation for going to the ground too easily. Defenders today have to be vigilant and watch out for such situations, knowing that there are still attackers who are smart and cunning enough to take advantage of the rash moves you make.

But that was not the case with Bukayo Saka. He was obliterated by Manuel Neuer, completely and unfairly, and I couldn’t believe the refereeing team didn’t see it that way. It’s important that you watch the replays at full speed and not in super slow-mo to really appreciate how it happened.

The Bayern Munich goalkeeper came charging at Saka after he broke behind. In doing so, it was Neuer who made the contact by getting so close, not Saka, who was forced to fall over the outstretched leg.

As a former defender, it’s hard to describe how cheated you feel when you’re punished for something you didn’t do, even when your opponent is the one who made the contract.

But Neuer will realize he got away with one here. Whether the referee knowingly or unknowingly leveled the game, given the penalty Bayern were not awarded after Gabriel Magalhaes was claimed to have handled the ball after a goal kick, only he will know. What I do know is that Saka should have received that suspension.

SHOULD ARSENAL HAVE A PENALTY?

Yes – Saka couldn’t avoid Neuer.

MARK CLATENBURG – JUDGMENT

When I refereed in the Premier League without VAR, strikers could win penalties without having to make any contact. The most memorable time I was cheated in my career was in February 2007 at White Hart Lane. It was 0-0 when Cristiano Ronaldo ran into the box.

To me it looked like Steed Malbranque had tripped him.

But Ronaldo was such a master of disguise that I had been fooled.

Manchester United scored and won 4-0. I knew I had made a mistake when I walked off in the second half because of the dog abuse I received from all over Tottenham.

They had had the chance to review the incident during the break. Now we have VAR for it in real time, so attackers know they need to make contact if they are to have any chance of a penalty being upheld.

The referees have a split second to decide if what is happening is natural, and in Bukayo Saka’s case it was not. Manuel Neuer stood firm as Saka kicked his planted leg.

This was not a case of the Bayern Munich goalkeeper taking the huge risk of diving in like Aaron Wan-Bissaka for Manchester United against Harvey Elliott of Liverpool.

There was no other movement from Neuer to suggest he had tried and failed to win the ball, and for that reason referee Glenn Nyberg was apprehensive about his judgment.

I believe that if the penalty had been awarded to Arsenal in real time VAR Pol van Boekel would not have overturned the decision for clear and obvious reasons. But Nyberg understood what had happened, the way Saka had used his left leg to direct the ball away from Neuer before using his right to make contact.

Saka doesn’t have to worry about developing a reputation among the judges. As furious as I was with Ronaldo at the time, I didn’t take it to other games because there’s a good chance it’ll be a legitimate foul next time.

As for Bayern’s penalty appeal, for a handball by Gabriel Magalhaes, I sympathize with Nyberg. He tried to use common sense to let the game continue, but unfortunately the laws of the game are clear. He had whistled on goal and Raya technically took it, so this was an action foul and Bayern are right to say they should have been awarded a penalty.

SHOULD ARSENAL HAVE A PENALTY?

No – Saka made the contact.