How VAR has cost Arsenal points in Premier League title race 2023: Explaining latest referee error vs Brentford

As Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates against Brentford on February 11, there was an error from VAR involved.

Leandro Trossard gave the Gunners the lead before Ivan Toney equalized for the visitors.

Lee Mason led the VAR team during the match. They failed to spot two instances of offside in the build-up to Toney's goal. Ethan Pinnock and Christian Norgaard were both in offside positions and played crucial roles in the goal.

PGMOL later acknowledged the error. It, however, proved to be a costly one for the Gunners as they could have gone eight points clear of Manchester City had they earned all three points.

This was not the only time this season that VAR had a negative impact on Arsenal's charge for the Premier League title. The first instance occurred during their 3-1 Premier League loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Gabriel Martinelli had a goal disallowed in the 12th minute for a foul in the build-up with the scoreline being at 0-0.

During Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Southampton, Gabriel Jesus was denied a penalty at Saint Mary's. Duje Caleta-Car wrestled him to the ground. A spot-kick, however, wasn't awarded, robbing the Gunners of the chance to take a 2-0 lead.

In Mikel Arteta's side's goalless draw at the Emirates against Newcastle United last month, Dan Burn pulled Gabriel Magahaes' shirt inside the Magpies' penalty area. The home side believed they deserved a penalty but the officials didn't agree.

The controversy in that game didn't end there as Jacob Murphy handled Granit Xhaka's attempted cross inside the area. The Gunners were certain once again that they deserved a penalty, which wasn't awarded.

The north London side retain their status as the league leaders, taking a three-point lead over Manchester City. However, proper officiating could have helped Arteta's side further in their bid to become the Premier League champions.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacted to the botched vAR check against Brentford

Arsenal FC v Brentford FC - Premier League

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was understandably frustrated as his team were robbed of two points against Brentford. The Spaniard reacted to the controversial VAR check during the game, saying (via Sky Sports):

"I just looked at it back and it is offside, We'll probably be given an explanation later in the week but today we haven't got any. Looking at the images, you have to apply certain principles in defending and you do that by sticking to the rules and suddenly you apply different rules then you have to change your principles."