Not a fan of technology? You need the VAR Table: which explains just how far Arsenal could be from the chasing pack and how Liverpool could be in a far worse position than they actually are.
Following a weekend in which both Arsenal and Brighton have both been contacted by the PGMOL over embarrassing decisions this weekend, the debate over the state of refereeing has only intensified. After all, video assistant referees were meant to clear up the confusion, weren't they?
Well, here's what the table would look like without VAR's interference. Is it really true that refereeing decisions equal themselves out in the most part, or do some teams have reason to feel hard done by?
The VAR Table: Arsenal could be further ahead, Liverpool further behind and Nottingham Forest in the top half…
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Actual position (change) | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 (-) | Arsenal | 21 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 48 | 18 | 30 | 53 |
| 2 | 2 (-) | Manchester City | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 57 | 23 | 34 | 48 |
| 3 | 3 (-) | Manchester United | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 39 | 30 | 9 | 44 |
| 4 | 4 (-) | Newcastle United | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 42 |
| 5 | 6 (+1) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 21 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 39 |
| 6 | 5 (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 44 | 36 | 8 | 39 |
| 7 | 8 (1) | Brentford | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 32 | 4 | 34 |
| 8 | 7 (-1) | Fulham | 23 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 33 |
| 9 | 9 (-) | Chelsea | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 31 |
| 10 | 14 (+4) | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 36 | -18 | 27 |
| 11 | 12 (+1) | Crystal Palace | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 30 | -10 | 25 |
| 12 | 13 (+1) | Leicester City | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 24 |
| 13 | 10 (-3) | Liverpool | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 34 | 41 | -7 | 24 |
| 14 | 11 (-3) | Aston Villa | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 35 | -10 | 24 |
| 15 | 15 (-) | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 32 | -17 | 23 |
| 16 | 17 (+1) | Leeds United | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 28 | 34 | -6 | 22 |
| 17 | 16 (-1) | West Ham United | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 20 | 29 | -9 | 22 |
| 18 | 18 (-) | Everton | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 20 |
| 19 | 19 (-) | Bournemouth | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 44 | -24 | 19 |
| 20 | 20 (-) | Southampton | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 19 | 40 | -21 | 16 |
There's plenty to dissect here but let's start with the top: Arsenal would be heading into a title-chasing clash against Manchester City five points clear this week, if not for video assistant refereeing.
Plenty of Newcastle United's draws could have turned into wins or losses while Brighton could be above Tottenham if not for a couple of decisions. But the really fascinating thing? Liverpool are down in 13th – and that doesn't take into account the controversial last-minute winner against Newcastle. The Reds have enjoyed a few key decisions this season – such as Foden's goal against them being chalked off – and actually, were it not for VAR, they could be a loss worse off.
Further down the table, the drop zone looks the same, while Uniteds Leeds and West Ham could swap places on our table. Blame that disallowed Tomas Soucek goal at the weekend against Chelsea – though the alleged handball from the Czech midfielder that didn't result in a penalty has no effect on our table.
You see, this is a table just pertaining to goal-deciding moments. If a player was awarded a penalty by VAR and scored it, we've taken it off. If a player had a goal disallowed by VAR, we've added it. We can't do much more than that without things getting really technical.
It would get far too in-depth and subjective to award penalties that should have been awarded, for example, or to retrospectively send off players who VAR didn't. And then there's the case of momentum in games.
Take Arsenal away against Manchester United in September. When VAR disallowed Gabriel Martinelli's opener, Arsenal were in the ascendancy. We added it back on for the VAR table – but there's a fair case that had the Gunners scored first, they'd never have been in a position to chase the game quite so desperately and lose it 3-1. We can't say for sure, though. The only thing you can do with full conviction… is to add or take goals away.
Equally, a referee's whistle was the difference between a harsh foul against the Gunners at the weekend and Brentford taking the lead. Arsenal fans can bemoan the controversial equaliser: Brentford fans would perhaps question if the table-toppers had even got back into the game, had Ivan Toney's goal stood in the first place.
It's almost as if the game is flawed. Our table is – just like the real table.
That's football, folks. You can debate decisions all you like – you can say that they equal themselves out across a campaign – but really, sometimes imperfections remain. We're not sure Mikel Arteta or Steve Cooper will see it like that, mind…
