11 February 2023 , 23:34
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Arsenal were the victims of a huge VAR blunder during their 1-1 draw with Brentford at the Emirates as Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason forgot to draw the lines for the Bees' equaliser.
The Gunners thought they had secured a vital victory when January signing Leandro Trossard bagged his first goal for the club, but Ivan Toney's close-range header placed a dent in Arsenal's title hopes. However, it has since emerged Christian Norgaard was in an offside position when he assisted Toney's header.
The equaliser would have been chalked off had the VAR lines been drawn correctly, but Mason allegedly forget to apply all the relevant lines when determining if the goal was a valid one.
PGMOL representative Chris Foy and former Premier League referee told MailSport : "VAR was looking to see if there was an offside and whether Ethan Pinnock had blocked off Gabriel in the build-up. He looked at the possible foul and decided there hadn’t been one and therefore referee Peter Bankes hadn’t made a clear and obvious error.
"However, in the build-up to the goal, Christian Norgaard — whose cross it is that Toney heads in — is in an offside position.
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"However, the truth is that VAR didn’t fully investigate with the lines. The lines, simply, didn’t go down. And that counts as human error. Had the lines gone down the goal would have been disallowed for offside."
Brentford's goal would have been ruled out had VAR been used correctly (beIN Sports)HAVE YOUR SAY! Are Arsenal starting to lose momentum in the race for the title? Comment below
It was a moment that left Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta seething, as he bemoaned during his post-match media duties that the goal should not have counted.
"I just looked back and it is offside", the Gunners manager blasted. "Have they explained why it wasn’t allowed? No. It is frustrating but they will probably give an explanation later in the week. Today we haven’t got one."
The revelation that Mason didn't apply all the lines comes as a surprising one considering how long the check took, but somehow he managed to overlook the most vital incident in the build-up to Toney's goal.
The result could have huge consequences for Arsenal when it comes to the race for the title.
As things stand, the Gunners sit six points clear at the top of the table, but Manchester City have the chance to close the gap to just three points should they beat Aston Villa at the Etihad on Sunday.
Wednesday night sees the two title rivals face off at the Emirates in a clash that now feels even more important from Arsenal's perspective as they try to maintain their lead at the top of the table with Pep Guardiola's side breathing down their necks.