Arsenal’s relationship with Premier League referee officials has been frosty for some time, but changes are now coming.
Mikel Arteta’s side found themselves on the wrong side of a number of controversial referee and VAR decisions over the last few years, and there were some heated moments last season.
Arteta was the centre of an FA investigation after comments made after Arsenal lost to Newcastle, and the hosts arguably got away with an unfair tackle and a wrongly allowed goal.
Arsenal put out a statement backing their manager, which came under fire in the media, and the club also called for improvements to refereeing standards.
The Premier League now look set to implement new technology which should solve a lot of VAR issues, and could be of major benefit across the division.
Premier League to introduce new AI technology
The Guardian have now revealed that the Premier League is set to instil a “revolutionary” new piece of technology to add to VAR and begin using semi-automated offside equipment.
Semi-automated offsides have been a huge success in UEFA Competitions, and will now be introduced to the Premier League using a highly detailed AI-backed tool which will see 28 new cameras installed at every ground.
This will allow VAR to pinpoint offsides more accurately, and remove the controversies surrounding the drawing of lines to determine offences.
A particularly controversial case came in February 2023. Arsenal drew 1-1 with Brentford, in a result which damaged their progress in the Premier League title race, and there was fury after as it emerged that the Brentford goal was offside, but the VAR officials had not drawn the lines when checking the goal.
Genius Sports will be providing the technology, and it is expected to be the most sophisticated in all of sport, with billions of data points collected to determine whether the ball is offside with limited delays.
The technology is expected to arrive in the Premier League after the first International break, but this could be bad news for Arsenal given their fixture list.
Arsenal’s fixtures before Premier League implement new VAR technology
Arsenal have a tough start to the season, with a trip to Aston Villa in the second game, and the first three games will not have the new technology.
This means home games against Wolves and Brighton, as well as the trip to Villa, could be more susceptible to controversial decisions.
Arsenal’s loss at Villa last season was mired with controversy as Kai Havertz had a goal disallowed, and Mikel Arteta will hope no such issues arrive before the technology arrives.
Arsenal’s first game with the technology is an away North London derby clash at Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal won 3-2 there last season, with Spurs seeing a goal disallowed for offside, and it will be interesting to see whether the new measures can make an immediate impact.
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