Favoured by the Footage: Inside the Controversial Decisions That Kept Mikel Arteta’s Men Out of Trouble

Arsenal may be celebrating a phenomenal Premier League title triumph, but rival fans and pundits are refusing to let the champagne mask a season defined by massive officiating talking points. While Mikel Arteta’s tactical masterclass deserves immense credit, a look back at the campaign reveals a series of high-profile VAR reviews that left opponents feeling thoroughly short-changed.

From missed red cards to waved-away stonewall penalties, here is the definitive breakdown of the key moments where the technology shielded the Gunners on their march to silverware.

1. The Great Escapes: Red Cards That Weren’t

To win a grueling league title, you need a settled squad, and Arsenal benefited massively from keeping eleven men on the pitch during crucial, knife-edge fixtures where things easily could have gone the other way.

• William Saliba vs. Chelsea (Matchweek 9): Early in the London derby, the French center-back misjudged a bouncing ball and caught an onrushing attacker high on the shin with studs showing. Despite a lengthy VAR check for serious foul play, the on-field yellow card stood, leaving pundits scratching their heads at the lack of consistency.

• Declan Rice vs. Newcastle United (Matchweek 19): Already on a booking, the talismanic midfielder clearly delayed the restart by kicking the ball away to stop a quick free-kick. While other players saw red for identical infractions this term, Rice escaped a second yellow card, allowing Arsenal to secure a vital 1-0 victory.

2. Penalty Box Let-Offs

Defensively, Arsenal were the tightest unit in the top flight, but their aggressive, physical style inside their own eighteen-yard box walked a dangerous tightrope—one that VAR frequently failed to pull them down from.

Alan Shearer on Match of the Day: “If those challenges happen anywhere else on the pitch, it’s an absolute certainty to be a foul. How VAR looks at clear shirt-pulling and wrestling inside the box and decides it’s ‘normal football contact’ is completely beyond me. Arsenal got away with murder at times.”

The most glaring error came during a high-stakes clash against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. With the game deadlocked at 0-0, Gabriel Magalhães clearly grabbed a fistful of an attacker’s shirt during a corner, pulling him directly to the turf. Shockingly, the VAR team at Stockley Park deemed it a “subjective tangle,” refusing to instruct the referee to review the pitchside monitor.

The Definite VAR Error Log

According to independent review data tracking palpable mistakes made by officiating teams this season, the champions enjoyed a highly favorable net-positive return on major subjective calls:

Luck of the Champions?

In football, the old adage states that these refereeing decisions ultimately even themselves out over the course of a grueling 38-game season. Try telling that to the chasing pack, who watched Arsenal navigate high-pressure moments with a knack for avoiding the strict disciplinary measures handed out elsewhere.

Mikel Arteta’s team played breathtaking, champions-elect football for the vast majority of the year, but there is no denying that the VAR monitors provided a very welcome safety net when they needed it most.