Arsenal have confirmed Ben White will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign after suffering a knee ligament injury in the 1–0 victory over West Ham United. The club described the injury as “significant” and said the 28-year-old will be unavailable for the final two Premier League fixtures against Burnley and Crystal Palace, as well as the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.

White’s absence continues a difficult run of fitness for the fullback. He underwent knee surgery in 2024–25 and made 26 appearances that season. In 2025–26 he has featured 30 times, with recurring trips in and out of the infirmary limiting his availability.

With White sidelined, Arsenal are without both of their preferred right-backs for the decisive closing fixtures. Jurriën Timber is also out while managing a groin problem, and Arteta is likely to rely again on natural centre back Cristhian Mosquera at right fullback. Mosquera is a workable short-term solution for the remaining domestic games, but the role offers little cover for the Champions League final, where questions remain about the right flank, particularly facing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Arteta himself admitted Timber is still “not fit to play,” let alone start, leaving uncertainty over whether the Dutchman can be available in time for the final in Budapest.

White’s recent international recognition underlined his rise before the injury. He earned his first England call-up during the March international break since the 2022 World Cup, earning a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s squad over Trent Alexander-Arnold. He scored in a 21-minute cameo against Uruguay and then started in the 1–0 defeat to Japan.

The injury now clouds White’s summer plans, with a prospective move to the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer likely affected. Arsenal have not given a precise timetable for his return but said they will assist the defender’s rehabilitation so he is ready for the start of preseason.

The 2025/26 Premier League season shows how a single distant review can alter outcomes and, cumulatively, the shape of the table. Arsenal have gained five points from VAR interventions and would still lead the division without video review, but by a much narrower margin. With VAR Arsenal sit on 79 points; without it they would have 74.

Manchester City have seen only one fixture materially affected by a VAR overturn. In January they were awarded a first-half penalty which Erling Haaland converted at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma later scored what would have been a match-winner but the VAR correctly identified a blatant trip from Diego Gómez on Jérémy Doku, turning three points into one for the champions.

Brighton are the side most disadvantaged by VAR this term. They would be seven points better off without it and would sit above Liverpool and Aston Villa in the top four. Opponents have been awarded three penalties on VAR reviews against Brighton, while the Seagulls were denied a spot kick in a goalless draw with Crystal Palace. They have also had two potential equalizers overturned by delayed offside checks.

Bournemouth have also been hindered by video review, provoking repeated objections from Andoni Iraola, who remarked: “We have very short sleeves,” he bizarrely pointed out. The Basque coach has questioned where officials draw the line on handball decisions.

Liverpool and Manchester United would show the same points totals regardless of VAR. For Liverpool, however, perceptions of inconsistency persist. “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone this season that if there’s a VAR intervention or if there’s something that could be left or right [50-50] then the decision goes against us,” the Liverpool manager fumed after his side conceded a controversial goal at the hands of United’s Benjamin Šeško . Recent weeks, though, have seen VAR both penalise and aid the Reds with overturned calls and flagged offside goals.

Only Sunderland have benefited more from VAR than Arsenal. Key interventions for the Gunners came across three matches. Some decisions, such as the disallowed Callum Wilson goal for West Ham, are widely accepted as correct; others remain contested, including events in Arsenal’s 1–0 win over Everton where the Key Match Incidents panel found Everton were wrongly denied a penalty.

Sunday’s stoppage-time VAR intervention that removed West Ham’s late equaliser at Arsenal produced a rare moment of collective dispute across players, managers and pundits. Mikel Arteta described the on-field incident as a “clear foul” on David Raya and praised the officials for what he called a “brave” decision.

The West Ham camp voiced frustration at perceived inconsistency. “Where’s the consistency?” Jarrow Bowen asked BBC Sport. Manager Nuno Espírito Santo admitted he was “upset” by a “lack of consistency.” Keeper Mads Hermansen offered a detailed critique of how tight penalty-area battles are policed. “If you ask any goalkeeper in the league if he’s been illegally blocked, pulled, pushed on corners this season, you will not find anyone who has not experienced this,” Hermansen fumed to The Athletic. “so, to give it today, I’m not sure I understand why. The referee did not explain why when I went to him. We watched it afterwards and we can see there’s short pulls on [Konstantinos] Mavropanos, Souček and Pablo before the goal.”

Arteta defended the officials: “[It’s] a call from the refs that I think is very brave,” he said. “Today I have to praise them, at least for giving the option to a referee to decide. Away from the lights and the chaos, to give clarity to him to make the right call. And when you look at the action in that way, I think it is an obvious error. It is a free kick and the goal has to be disallowed. So congratulations because they made a big call in very, very difficult circumstances.”

Broadcast reaction was largely aligned on the foul being on Raya. “The one thing you say when you go up, VAR are going to check everything, do not put your hands on the goalkeeper!” Roy Keane told Sky Sports. “Certainly don’t leave it on for three or four seconds. There is all sorts going on but because the goalkeeper had such a big part to play, I think it is a foul.” Wayne Rooney called it “a clear foul” on his self-titled podcast. Gary Lineker added caution about earlier grappling: “If I was a West Ham fan—or, indeed, a Manchester City fan—I think I’d be a little bit angry tonight,” he reasoned. “Because there was a lot of fouling going on at that corner, there was a lot of grappling by Arsenal players on the West Ham attackers … I know it was probably a foul on [Raya] but do you not then look at before, when people are being held, which is probably more an obvious foul?” Micah Richards observed: “It depends what camp you’re in. If you’re in Man City’s camp, you’re saying it’s not a foul and [at] Arsenal, you’re saying it’s a foul. It’s as simple as that.”

West Ham intend to seek further clarification and the audio between referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR Darren England, according to BBC Sport. The VAR process lasted two minutes, 41 seconds; the touchline monitor review one minute, 15 seconds; total review time four minutes, 11 seconds. The episode has reignited the long-standing debate over consistency and how the laws should be applied in crowded penalty-area situations.