Arsenal defender David Luiz has opened up on what Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah told him after he had given away a penalty in the Premier League defeat at Anfield.

The Brazilian has attempted to defend his shirt pull on Salah, which in turn saw the Reds awarded with a penalty.

Liverpool had secured a 1-0 lead at half-time thanks to a Joel Matip header off a corner and after the break the Reds continued to display their dominance over Arsenal, which after some intricate passing saw Luiz give away a penalty.

Reds right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold found Roberto Frimino inside the box with a low driven pass and the Brazilian, with a first-time pass, then laid the ball off to Salah.

However, the Egyptian was prevented from getting onto the pass as Luiz pulled his shirt back as the defender spun around to chase the movement of the winger.

Footage of the moment Salah’s shirt is pulled by Luiz is indisputable, however, the defender claims it was just a reflex movement and didn’t actually impede the player’s run, report the Express.

Salah converted the penalty and Liverpool went on to win the clash 3-1, which in turn means the Reds are currently the only team in the Premier League who still have a 100 per cent record after three games.

However, Luiz insists Salah told him afterward that he didn’t even feel the contact during the incident.

“I think the second goal, the penalty, killed the game,” Luiz told Sky Sports after the final whistle.

“Yes [it was instinctive], I think you cannot take this out of the players, it’s just a reflex.

“When I turn I see and I take but I take off the power [of the pull].

“That’s when I spoke with Momo [Salah] and he said, ‘I didn’t feel you touch me, that’s why I didn’t go down to the floor’.

“But now the VAR you cannot see the power [of the shirt pull] so it’s difficult for the referees, he saw the shirt like that.

“It’s difficult for them, so I cannot complain to the referees.

“If you play with an extra-large shirt now it could be a penalty every time. It’s interpretation. If you pull someone with power and you stop him trying to go to the ball it’s different. This was just a reflex.

“But that’s it, he scored the penalty and gave me a yellow.

“For the third goal I could not make the foul and put my team in trouble with 10 men.

“So I think I conditioned my game after that, it was more difficult, but the team fight until the end.

“If I pull your shirt or put my hand on your shirt it’s totally different, the power is different.

“VAR is difficult for them they cannot see the power. It depends on the interpretation. I spoke with Momo he said, ‘I didn’t feel that’.”