PGMOL officials admit VAR ‘failure’ to Mikel Arteta in Arsenal’s loss to West Ham

Mikel Arteta was informed by the match officials after Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to West Ham that VAR was unable to definitively identify whether the ball had left the play for the Hammers’ contentious opening goal.

At the 13-minute mark on Thursday night, Tomas Soucek gave David Moyes’ team the lead by tapping home Jarrod Bowen’s low cross.

Early in the second half, Konstantinos Mavropanos, a former Gunners defender, powered a header in off the crossbar to make it 2-0.

Arsenal was unable to tie the score despite having the most touches in the opponent box (77), more than any other Premier League club without a goal in 15 years.

However, Gunners supporters were incensed by the debate surrounding West Ham’s first goal, as VAR determined that the ball was still in play prior to Bowen’s cross.

VAR lacked solid proof that the ball had crossed the line because it was not able to obtain the proper camera angle. Consequently, the choice was made to maintain the target.

Still, there’s no assurance that a different viewpoint would have compelled a different choice.

After the game, Arteta talked about what the referees had informed him. He criticised the technology for not being clear enough to provide a clear answer on whether or not the goal should have stood.

According to Sky Sports, he stated: “I haven’t seen it.” The officials’ only statement was that the picture was inconclusive.

“It’s unfortunate that our current technology isn’t so advanced that it can be declared useless. There is nothing we can do about it at this time; it is done and gone.”

“There is no other decision the match officials can give,” former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg stated to Amazon Prime in the meanwhile.

“It is difficult for the assistant referee, who is standing on the goal line, to tell if the ball has left the play.

“A goal is a decision made on the pitch. We cannot be positive that the ball has left the pitch after examining all the available data.

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