Southampton vs Arsenal: Was Laurent Koscielny deliberately tripped by Shane Long as fans rage on Twitter?

Koscielny was taken out of the game in the build-up to Long's strike, but referee Jon Moss waved play on

Laurent Koscielny protests after being tripped by Shane Long in the build up to Southampton's second goal (Reuters)

Arsenal were left shellshocked by a fantastic long-range curling effort from Southampton right-back Cuco Martina, but they were speechless when a second goal was put past goalkeeper Petr Cech early in the second half.

But should the goal have been ruled out due to a deliberate trip on the Arsenal defender, Laurent Koscielny, in the build-up by goalscorers Laurent Koscielny?

As Sadio Mane broke down the right win, Per Mertesacker came across to try and cover a ball from being crossed into the area. Koscielny followed suit, only to hit the deck and leave Long completely unmarked in the middle of the area.

The Republic of Ireland striker calmly slotted the ball past Cech, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger raged on the sideline for what he saw as a deliberate trip to take Koscielny out of the game.

Watch the video below...

Vine: Shane Long's trip on Laurent Koscielny leading to Southampton's second goal which wasn't given as a free-kick. https://t.co/OzkgkdsK6g

— afcstuff (@afcstuff) December 26, 2015

The controversy didn’t stop there, as a third goal soon followed when Jose Fonte headed in from a corner, despite having six Arsenal defenders near him in the area. The argument from Arsenal though came in that Koscielny appeared to leave the ball and shepherd it over the line for a goal kick, only for referee Jon Moss to award a corner that would produce the third.

Arsenal fans were eqaully as unhappy as Wenger, and took to Twitter o voice their displeasure.

With Arsenal having the chance to go top of the Premier League after Leicester lost to Liverpool earlier in the day, Wenger was even more incensed in the dug-out given that once again his side had fallen short in a crucial match.