How VAR Controversy Marred Arsenal Vs West Ham Clash, Arteta Reacts 

Arsenal’s Premier League game against West Ham United on Thursday, December 28, was marred by controversial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) calls.

One of the most outstanding VAR erroneous calls during the Premier League game was Tomas Soucek’s goal in the 13th minute. Ahead of the goal, the ball seemed to have gone off the line before Jarrod Bowen passed it to Soucek.

The center referee gave the goal to West Ham United before the VAR halted play to check the buildup to the goal. After three minutes of VAR intervention, the goal stood.

After the game, it was noted that the VAR lens couldn’t determine whether the ball had crossed the line before the goal because Bowen’s body blocked the main angle of the camera.

Funny enough, the opposite camera which could have helped the situation was too far from the action and couldn’t accurately pick the ball crossing the line.

“I haven’t seen it. The only thing they [the officials] said was the image was not conclusive”, Mikel Arteta said after the game, as quoted by Sky Sports.

“It’s just a shame that the technology that we have is not that clear that we can say it’s out of play. It’s done, it’s gone and there’s nothing we can do about it now.

“The assistant referee, who is on the goal line, cannot see clearly if the ball has gone out of play.

“The on-field decision is a goal. When you look at all the evidence, we cannot be 100 percent certain that the ball has gone out.”

Note that this is the second time Arsenal have suffered from an erroneous VAR decision this season. The first time was during the club’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

Newcastle won the game thanks to a controversial goal from Anthony Gordon, which was scored after Joe Willock kept the ball in play after it had crossed the line. Numerous VAR checks couldn’t change the referee’s decision.

Coach Mikel Arteta described the outcome of the game as “embarrassing” and was almost punished for his comments afterwards. However, the Premier League decided to drop all charges against the Spanish tactician. 

Unfortunately, on Thursday night, Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat against West Ham after conceding the match opener through a similar scenario. The defeat has left the Gunners in the second spot with 40 points in 19 games, two points behind first-placed Liverpool.