Was Soucek’s goal really regular? Arteta criticised VAR after West Ham game: all they told me was that the footage was inconclusive

West Ham United surprisingly beat Arsenal 2:0 on Thursday night, with a goal from Tomas Soucek. However, after the game, the home coach Mikel Arteta was very angry, according to whom the VAR system is grossly imperfect. The Czech international’s goal should not have been valid.

Do you still remember the day when the VAR system officially entered world football? Back then, some fans were understandably excited, but some were sceptical.

Over the years, VAR has helped to sort out many opaque situations and has been able to fairly assess whether a given situation should have ended in a goal or not. On the other hand, however, we have seen some moments that have left more than just the sanity of most fans standing still.

This was the case in Arsenal’s recent game against West Ham. The Gunners rather surprisingly lost to the Hammers 0:2 at the Emirates Stadium, and according to many people, this time VAR was wrong. Specifically, it conceded a goal that should not have been allowed.

The goal account of this match was opened in the thirteenth minute by Tomáš Souček, who contributed significantly to the victory of West Ham. And he did so after an assist from Jarrod Bowen, who, however, according to the last shots, played the ball behind the penalty line.

Soucek finished the action with a swift finish to score his fifth goal in the current Premier League campaign. VAR then examined Bowen’s pass but found that the ball did not leave the field of play. And the goal was eventually disallowed.

An angry Arteta assesses the (mal)functioning VAR…

But the home team’s coach didn’t like the decision after the game. Konstantinos Mavropanos increased the score to 2:0 in the 55th minute and Arsenal didn’t manage to reduce the score or even equalise the game. The current sixth team of the Premier League was therefore defeated.

“We all want the best possible technology to make the decision clear. So if it’s inconclusive today with the technology we have available, it’s probably something we can improve,” Arteta said angrily in the post-match press conference.

“I didn’t see it (the whole situation – ed.). But all they told me was that the footage was inconclusive. It’s a shame. It happened, it’s gone and there’s nothing we can do about it,” Arteta added.

Source: Premier League, Sky Sports