Mikel Arteta’s past complaints about VAR going against Arsenal have been blown out of the water by one statistic. The north Londoners now lead the Premier League table by nine points, having beaten Everton 2-0 one week after overcoming Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0.

Both results had to be ground out by Arteta’s side, who were under huge pressure in both. However, at the Amex, a moment of good fortune went the way of the north Londoners, as the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel stated Brighton should have been awarded a penalty. Seagulls’ boss Fabian Hurzeler was furious his side did not get a spot-kick when Mats Wieffer was brought to the ground by Gabriel Martinelli after trying to get on the end of a cross.

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Premier League official Chris Kavanaugh waved away Brighton’s protests, while video assistant referee (VAR), Michael Salisbury cleared the decision. At the time of writing, Arsenal are one of the few sides not to have a VAR mistake go against them.

The KMI Panel voted 4:1 that Brighton should have earned a penalty on the field with a 3:2 vote deciding there should have been a VAR intervention. It was the second time this year Arsenal escaped a VAR penalty in a game they went on to win by one goal, as it was decided Everton should have got a spot-kick after William Saliba brought down Thierno Barry in the penalty area in December.

Moreover, the panel also said Chelsea should have been given a penalty when Declan Rice cleared a corner with his shoulder, but a 4:1 vote decided it did not reach the threshold for a VAR intervention. The Gunners are yet to have a VAR error go against them this season.

Considering both Arteta and Bukayo Saka have insinuated VAR decisions often go against them, it’s a statistic which seemingly blows their arguments away.

The Gunners boss was also upset his side did not get a penalty in their 0-0 draw away to Nottingham Forest, when Ola Aina appeared to handle the ball, while he was fuming a penalty was overturned against Newcastle United earlier in the campaign, when Nick Pope was adjudged to have got a touch on the ball after bringing down Viktor Gyokeres.

“If it is not a clear and obvious error, VAR should not intervene,” Arteta told Sky Sports, after the latter incident, at the time.

“It is clear that VAR does not have to intervene because it is a penalty.”

After Arsenal beat Newcastle, Saka suggested VAR calls always go against Arsenal. He said: “There are a few things we can speak about, for example, the penalty.

“For me, if we have VAR, it is for a clear and obvious error, and the fact that it took the ref that long to decide shows it is not a clear and obvious error. It is things like this that always go against us.”

This evening, Arsenal host Bayer Leverkusen for the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. They secured a 1-1 away draw against the Bundesliga heavyweights last week, with Kai Havertz grabbing an equaliser from the penalty spot.