Did Mikel Arteta suffer third unique VAR mistake? – Arsenal vs Crystal Palace referee review

Arsenal were disappointing again in their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, which saw the Gunners record their 13th draw of the campaign; only Everton (14) have more than Mikel Arteta’s side. Asked after the match for his response to the questions and it was evident the frustration in losing so many points from leading positions.

"Well, we haven't been able to see the games off for many reasons, and the margins have been too small," he said. "Sometimes that's when I credit the opposition, it's true that we played five times with 10 men.

"There are a lot of factors, but obviously it's something that we've done much better in the past, especially when we've been ahead in games, and today, without really much happening, especially in the second half, we have to be able to see the game off."

Many times, a single goal lead has not been enough for Arsenal to claim the three points, and they have failed to open up the two-goal buffer. Yet they were denied the chance to see a two-goal gap emerge after Gabriel Martinelli’s goal was ruled out.

At the time it was not clear whether an offside call had been made or something else, the screens inside the grounds mentioned checking for an offside. In the end, it was deemed that the ball had indeed gone out of play before Jurrien Timber managed to find a cross.

Replays were very tight and the camera sadly did not have the benefit of being on the side of the goal not obscured by the netting. However, replays showed the tiniest of margins where you could see the ball had gone out.

FL review – The issue with the decision was the time it took. Eight minutes were added on to the end of the second half mainly as a result of the VAR check to determine whether the ball had gone out of play.

This is far from the first time this has happened to Arsenal. It has left them asking again questions why the technology is not in place for swifter resolutions at the very minimum.

FL verdict – Correct decision, no goal.

But looking at those two previous examples, as the incident did indeed invoke those memories. First came the controversy, which sparked an enraged response from Mikel Arteta in his post-match press conference.

Joelinton’s foul in the box was one part, but the cross which led to that came after Joe Willock appeared to keep the ball in play despite cameras showing the ball over the line. VAR could not conclusively rule on the call and so went with the on-field decision.

Then, against West Ham at the Emirates Stadium, Jarrod Bowen was again deemed to have kept the ball in play as Tomas Soucek scored the first of what would be a damaging home defeat to the Hammers in a season that saw Arteta’s side lose out on the title by just two points.

Again, VAR could not determine whether or not the ball had left the field of play and went with the on-field decision. In the case of Martinelli’s goal, it was the only time the flag was indeed raised by the assistant referee.

How in 2025 the technology cannot exist so that a ball is deemed to have left the field of play when goal line technology already exists, as well as semi-automatic offsides, is beyond me. Maybe it will be the next innovation we see.