Man City will be furious as Premier League panel identify VAR errors in key Arsenal games

Manchester City have every right to be furious with Howard Webb’s officials after it was concluded that Arsenal had escaped punishment from VAR.

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has revealed that the Gunners should have conceded a penalty in their 1-0 win over Brighton at the beginning of the month.

After review, it has been adjudged that Gabriel Martinelli brought down Mats Wieffer inside the penalty area on the stroke of half-time, but neither Chris Kavanagh nor Michael Salisbury gave the decision.

Man City drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest on the same day, and after also drawing with West Ham in the most recent matchweek, Pep Guardiola’s side have fallen nine points behind in the Premier League table.

Arsenal benefit from VAR errors in Premier League title race

It is the second time that Mikel Arteta’s side have wrongly escaped a penalty being awarded against them by VAR this season, decisions which have greatly affected the Premier League standings.

Had the Gunners drawn both of the games in question, they would be four points worse off than they are now, putting them just five points above second place with seven games left to play.

However, it becomes trickier than that. Man City still have a game in hand on the Gunners, with Guardiola’s side also yet to welcome them to the Etihad Stadium in April.

A five-point gap would make things a lot more interesting, but all the teams that have been directly affected by the VAR errors are likely to receive just an apology from the PGMOL.

Man City must still believe in final few matches

All signs point towards Arsenal lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time since the 2003-04 season, but the Citizens cannot give up hope of a potential slip-up in North London.

Newcastle United, West Ham and Crystal Palace all present tricky fixtures for the Gunners, though Guardiola’s side do still have the likes of Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa still to play.

The two sides’ meeting at the Emirates is likely to have a huge impact on the end-of-season run-in, but so too does the officiating in these remaining games, and it doesn’t seem like the referees can be trusted.

Webb and his referees have a lot of questions to answer this season, especially in the context of which team wins the title, but those at the Etihad will be more focused on their own mistakes.

Someone has to say this all for them.

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