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Mikel Arteta Grateful For VAR Power After Arsenal Survive Penalty Scare To Beat Leeds

Leeds United 0-1 Arsenal. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was grateful that VAR was eventually in operation during Sunday's delayed game at Elland Road.

Robert Summerscales

Mikel Arteta Grateful For VAR Power After Arsenal Survive Penalty Scare To Beat Leeds
Mikel Arteta Grateful For VAR Power After Arsenal Survive Penalty Scare To Beat Leeds /

Leeds United 0-1 Arsenal

EPL leaders Arsenal produced their worst performance of the season but left Elland Road with a valuable three points on an eventual Sunday afternoon.

The game had been going for just 23 seconds when play was suspended by referee Chris Kavanagh due to a power cut at the stadium.

Kavanagh stopped the match because the lack of power made it impossible for him to communicate with the VAR, who would go on to be very involved in the contest.

After a 40-minute break, power was restored and Leeds made a strong start.

But Arsenal took the lead against the run of play 10 minutes before half-time when Martin Odegaard set up Bukayo Saka to score his fourth goal in three games.

The Leeds response was electric. Patrick Bamford thought he had equalized right at the start of the second half but his effort was ruled out for a slight push on Gabriel.

After wave upon wave of Leeds attacks, a VAR review presented Bamford with a golden chance to score for real on 62 minutes when a penalty was awarded against William Saliba for handball.

Bamford stepped up but sent his shot wide from 12 yards.

Leeds were not disheartened and continued to dominate the play.

Arsenal held on until added time when a second Leeds penalty was awarded.

Again Bamford was at the heart of the action as he was kicked by Gabriel inside the 18-yard box. Gabriel was shown a straight red card by Kavanagh but he did not leave the field.

He was right to wait. Another VAR review resulted in the referee changing his decision.

It was deemed that Bamford had fouled Gabriel first so the penalty was unawarded. 

After looking at multiple replays, Kavanagh also decided to downgrade Gabriel's red card to yellow because his kick on Bamford had not been quite aggressive enough to constitute violent conduct.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta violently punched the air in celebration when the full-time whistle blew.

Arteta later admitted that he was very pleased that the power problems had been fixed and that the VAR had been able to communicate with the on-field referee.

He told BBC Sport: "Thank God they made the system to work.

"That delay was worth it because without VAR I don't know what would have happened."

Arsenal's win saw them end the weekend four points clear at the top of the EPL table, after Manchester City lost 1-0 at Liverpool.

Referee Chris Kavanagh pictured looking at the pitch-side monitor to review a decision during Arsenal's 1-0 win at Leeds in October 2022
Referee Chris Kavanagh pictured looking at the pitch-side monitor to review a decision during Arsenal's 1-0 win at Leeds :: IMAGO/News Images/James Heaton
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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.

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