The Premier League has confirmed that Arsenal benefitted from at least two major VAR errors this season, raising fresh debate over officiating standards and their potential impact on the title race.
According to findings from the league’s independent Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel, one of the most recent errors occurred during Arsenal’s narrow 1–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, where Brighton were wrongly denied a penalty. The panel ruled that Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli had fouled Mats Wieffer inside the box, and that both the on-field referee and VAR officials made incorrect decisions by not awarding a spot-kick.
The panel voted 4–1 that a penalty should have been given and also indicated that VAR should have intervened, highlighting what has been described as a “clear and obvious error.”
This is not an isolated incident. Earlier in the season, Arsenal were also judged to have benefited from another controversial decision during a match against Everton, where a foul involving William Saliba went unpunished despite later review suggesting a penalty should have been awarded.
Additionally, a separate incident involving Declan Rice against Chelsea was also flagged by the panel as a missed penalty call, further fueling claims that Arsenal have had multiple favourable decisions this season.
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