VAR overlooked a crucial incident during the Arsenal 4-2 victory over Leicester City, likely leaving Mikel Arteta extremely frustrated…

VAR overlooked a crucial incident during the Arsenal 4-2 victory over Leicester City, leaving Mikel Arteta understandably frustrated.

During the Arsenal 4-2 match against Leicester City, VAR failed to address a significant moment, which must have infuriated Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal has encountered several contentious moments with match officials this season, just six matches into the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.

A significant point of discussion arose just before the international break when Declan Rice received a red card in the 1-1 draw against Brighton for allegedly delaying Joel Veltman’s restart of play.

This was followed by another controversial dismissal, as Leandro Trossard was sent off against Manchester City for a similar infraction during the 2-2 draw.

Trossard was penalized for pushing Bernardo Silva to the ground and subsequently kicked the ball away, with referee Michael Oliver issuing the penalty just moments before the incident occurred.

Given these previous events, it is no surprise that both Arsenal supporters and Mikel Arteta were left exasperated by Wilfred Ndidi’s actions in the 35th minute on Saturday.

VAR failed to recognize Ndidi’s misconduct during the Arsenal 4-2 match against Leicester City. Fans expect consistency in officiating, yet that was absent from referee Sam Barrott at the Emirates Stadium.

Ndidi, who had already received a yellow card in the 31st minute, kicked the ball away after Bukayo Saka was fouled by Stephy Mavididi.

The footage is available on X, and Arteta must have been infuriated that the Nigerian player did not receive a second yellow card.

Arsenal fans are likely perplexed by the lack of punishment for Ndidi, especially after the extensive discussions in recent weeks regarding time-wasting and delaying restarts.

This decision nearly proved detrimental for Arsenal, as James Justin’s brace appeared to have equalized the match—an outcome that might not have occurred had Leicester been reduced to ten men for a significant portion of the game.

Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, late goals from Trossard and Kai Havertz ensured that Arsenal secured all three points.

Arteta has grounds for complaint. The Gunners could have potentially gained an additional four points had Rice and Trossard not received red cards against Brighton and Manchester City, respectively, while Arsenal was leading in both matches at the time.

In a title race against Manchester City, every point is crucial, and those red cards could have significant implications for Arsenal’s title hopes as the season progresses.

Thus, Arteta, who Sam Allardyce believes has improved defensively as a coach, would be justified in submitting an official complaint to the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited).

It is hoped that officiating in the Premier League will become more consistent in the near future, as some recent decisions have been quite perplexing.