The Premier League has made two significant announcements following a series of contentious referee decisions in Arsenal's thrilling victory over Newcastle United. Late goals from Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes secured the comeback after Nick Woltemade's 34th-minute opener.
However, before that, some crucial calls were made, with Arsenal being denied a penalty despite referee Jarred Gillett initially pointing to the spot. Viktor Gyokeres had tried to nudge the ball past the charging Nick Pope but seemed to be taken down by the Newcastle goalkeeper.
Officials at Stockley Park suggested an on-field review, and the decision was overturned after Gillett spent several minutes viewing replays from various angles.
"#NEWARS – 14' VAR OVERTURN After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of penalty to Arsenal, the Premier League Match Centre wrote on X. " the Premier League Match Centre posted on X. "Referee announcement: "After review, the Newcastle goalkeeper plays the ball and there is no foul. The final decision is drop ball.""
However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had a very different perspective on the incident. "I watched it live and then I watched it on the screen and for me it was a penalty," he confessed in a press conference.
"We were instructed very clearly again this season that unless it's a clear and obvious error, the referee is not going to intervene. It's not. So that's my opinion. We find a way to win the game. The team is still emotionally very, very, very calm and very composed. And that's a lesson that we took as well, probably from a few years ago."
With just moments left on the clock, Arsenal caught a break from a contentious call when a spot-kick wasn't given despite the ball connecting with Gabriel's arm, which was positioned well away from his body.
Clarifying why VAR Darren England chose not to advise overturning the ruling, the Premier League Match Centre stated: "#NEWARS – 85' The referee's call of no penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the ball deemed to have deflected off Gabriel's shin and onto his arm."
Following their involvement in several disputed calls, the Premier League appears to be backing England and Gillett with both match officials lined up for crucial assignments this weekend.
According to theirofficial website, the latter will be overseeing VAR responsibilities for Leeds United's encounter with Tottenham on Saturday lunchtime. He will subsequently take the whistle for Wolves' home fixture against Brighton the next day.
England won't feature in a Premier League match until Sunday when he oversees Manchester City's journey to Brentford. John Brooks has been named as the referee for the Gunners' clash with West Ham United, with Simon Bennett and Mat Wilkes serving as his assistants and Chris Kavanagh acting as the fourth official.
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