Some numbers tell a story before you’ve even finished reading them.
Arsenal won the Premier League title last season.
And they done so without receiving a single red card.
Or conceding a single penalty.
On the surface, that’s a remarkable achievement.
But the Key Match Incidents panel data tells a slightly different story.
Confirmed: Arsenal and Chelsea benefitted the most from VAR last season
According to the BBC, Arsenal should have conceded three penalties and received three red cards this season.
Instead, they conceded none and received none.
That gap makes Arsenal one of the two biggest beneficiaries of officiating mistakes in the entire Premier League this season.
The other is Chelsea.
In total, Arsenal had seven referee mistakes in their favour across all categories.
Chelsea had eight and critically, did not suffer a single VAR error going against them all season.
Both London clubs share the top spot on a net score of +5.
Wolves follow on +4.
And the club with the biggest cause for complaint is Leeds United.
The only team in the Premier League not to have a single officiating mistake go in their favour all season.
They finished on an overall score of -4.
However, there were 25 VAR errors in total this season.
And the specific incidents involving Arsenal paint a picture that will be an uncomfortable read for those who believe the title win was entirely clean.
Mikel Merino should have received a second yellow card against Aston Villa.
The score was 0-0 at the time, in a game Arsenal went on to win 4-1.
Gabriel should have been sent off against Manchester City.
And a late penalty awarded against Leeds for a foul on Max Dowman was incorrectly given.
However, for Chelsea, the panel identified two incorrect VAR interventions.
One leading to a Fulham goal being wrongly disallowed.
And another resulting in an incorrect penalty against Crystal Palace.
The data confirms what many suspected.
That in a title race decided by margins, the distribution of officiating mistakes was far from neutral.
Arsenal are champions.
But the numbers behind that title now sit in the public domain.
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