VARSENAL by name and champions elect by decree after another day of drama and debate
West Ham lost more than a point thanks to Pablo Esco-VAR
It sounded too good to be true at the time - and it was - but it was also too good a headline opportunity to turn down as Chris Kennedy composed himself and a hush descended on the London Stadium late on Sunday afternoon.
As referee Kennedy outlined why he was disallowing Callum Wilson’s late, late equaliser and probably changing history at the top and bottom of the current Premier League season, we decided to play the headline challenge.
A multi-stop career in the tabloid parish will do that for you - and for your nearest and dearest. Every so often we will swap the printing press for the family WhatsApp group and write the headlines to match the sporting stories of the day.
Considering the family connection to Arsenal that goes all the way back to 1971, Charlie George and an FA Cup winning goal at Wembley that secured the first leg of the double, there was only ever going to be one topic for the headline game on Sunday - Arsenal’s late escape at the home of the London Olympics and their hop, skip and jump to the Premier League title.
HAMMERS BLOW was an early and obvious entry. PABLO ESCO-VAR was an early contender for top prize. But the winner, by a distance, was a one-word wonder. VARSENAL. All caps and pure tabloid gold.
It worked in every way as referee Kennedy sounded his final whistle very soon after that five minute delay and his justification of a decision that will mean so much to Arsenal and will cost West Ham so dearly at the other end of the table.
Winner alright, winner alright. And winners all right - Arsenal will probably win the title after this VAR intervention, one labelled as brave by their manager Mikel Arteta as he praised the bravery of the referee and the VAR officials with probably the most significant video assisted decision in Premier League history.
What else was Arteta going to say? He did point out that he has been critical of VAR this season when criticism was merited but he also admitted that the decision related to a moment that ‘can decide the history, and the course, of two massive clubs that are fighting with their lives to achieve their objectives’. Indeed they were.
But family preferences aside, I also took note of the comments from West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo and his captain Jarrod Bowen whose objectives turned to objections in an instant.
Nuno pointed out post match that if you look long enough at the video replay from any corner in any Premier League game, you will discover a foul of some sort or other. Bowen claimed that goalkeepers are more protected than any other player on the field.
Both points are relevant, both support the theory that the discussions around VAR really need to start again even if those who govern our game seem determined to ensure it is here to stay.
Arsenal won’t win the league because a camera caught a ‘foul’ on their keeper. They will win because of the 76 other points they have won this season before Sunday and before their final games to come against Burnley and Crystal Palace.
West Ham, in stark contrast, could be relegated because they failed to add to their 36 points total against Arsenal and possibly because the single point that Wilson’s goal would have earned them didn’t count. That’s where VAR stinks.
As for the headline writing competition - we’re not as unique as we thought we were.
Some subtle investigation unearthed the VARsenal.co.uk website, with the tagline ‘where every decision goes their way’ and a claim to be the most comprehensive, lovingly curated archive of Arsenal FC’s controversial VAR decisions, creative diving and referee-assisted victories.
The site, self confessed as tongue-in-cheek, claims that the Gunners have benefitted from seven VAR errors this season. It doesn’t classify Sunday’s decision by Chris Kavanagh as an error - so that’s VARSENAL made redundant.
Maybe Pablo Esco-VAR deserves a second chance! Unlike West Ham, who definitely won’t get another shot at this cherry.ame.