Since Howard Webb took charge of English referees in 2022 a Key Match Incidents panel has been meeting after each round to review officiating. BBC Sport were given access to the panel’s findings from the 2025/26 season, which record 25 VAR errors, seven more than last season.

The KMI log is clear that these incidents are those which met the “clear and obvious” threshold that Stockley Park should have identified. Working on the assumption that every penalty that should have been awarded would have been converted, the panel’s list changes how results would have stacked up. Arsenal benefit most: the Gunners won four points as a consequence of VAR errors. Manchester City’s points total was not altered in the panel’s reconstruction, though City were affected by individual incidents during the campaign.

Phil Foden was denied a clear penalty in a 2–1 defeat to Newcastle in November, an episode Pep Guardiola would later criticise. The KMI panel judged that complaint to be justified, but City also gained from a missed call in May when Bernardo Silva escaped giving away a penalty for going all WWE on Merlin Röhl.

Manchester United’s final tally includes two points that the panel says were won thanks to a favourable decision which allowed Bryan Mbeumo to handle the ball before Matheus Cunha found the net in a 3–2 win over Nottingham Forest at the end of the season.

Arne Slot spent much of the campaign vocal about perceived bias. “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 Dutch boss moaned after Benjamin Šeško’s controversial strike for United was allowed in May. The KMI panel did not deem Šeško’s goal to meet the threshold of an error because no conclusive footage could be found.

Liverpool’s sole KMI-listed mistake came on the opening day when Marcos Senesi was not sent off for Bournemouth after handling the ball; Liverpool won that match 4–2. Three of Arsenal’s eight 1–0 wins were aided by VAR mistakes, including Viktor Gyökeres’s penalty against Everton at Hill Dickinson, where Everton should have had a spot kick for William Saliba’s swipe. David Moyes declined to elaborate after that game. “I’d like to,” Moyes shrugged, “but I’d probably be fined.” Fabian Hürzeler also protested after Brighton’s loss to Arsenal when Gabriel Martinelli escaped punishment for a tug on Mats Wieffer.

Ronald Koeman, the Netherlands manager, used a pre-World Cup media appearance to deliver an unexpected criticism of Arsenal, who are preparing for the Champions League final. He suggested the club’s Premier League title was built on dead-ball routines rather than open play.

“I think Arsenal became champions through corners,” Koeman told assembled media ahead of a pre-World Cup training campaign, “otherwise they wouldn’t have made it.” The remark followed a question about how teams might adapt their tactics in the sweltering conditions expected at the summer World Cup. Koeman added he was pessimistic about the presence of entertaining action and pointed to England’s roster selection as evidence the side would prioritise set pieces.

Arsenal’s set-piece record has been a recurring talking point. The club employ set-piece coach Nicolas Jover and have been noted for their dead-ball work. As many as nine of the club’s Premier League victories during the 2025–26 campaign owed some part to goals from corner kicks. Without that superpower, the Gunners would have claimed 65 points compared to the 85 they actually achieved.

Mikel Arteta’s focus on these moments began early in his time at the club. In the summer of 2020 Arsenal signed Brentford’s specialist Andreas Georgson, although the immediate effect was limited: the team scored just six set-piece goals in the 2020–21 campaign, the third-lowest tally in the Premier League. After Arteta moved from head coach to manager he was able to appoint Nicolas Jover in 2021, a coach he had first worked with at Manchester City. Since that appointment the club have been dominant in dead-ball scenarios.

Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke described the manager’s method for seeking ideas in a discussion about set pieces. “There’s been a lot of conversation about set pieces this year,” Kroenke mused to the club’s official YouTube channel. “Mikel Arteta was looking at an NFL game and he broke it down in a way that I had never heard and he goes, ‘Every play is a set piece, every play is choreographed, every play is a set piece.’ And you could see him start to go into his mode where [he thinks], ‘How do we apply this?’

“I know he had already unleashed many ideas at that point but he’s always constantly looking. I took him to a hockey game, [he said], ‘Look at the triangles on the ice, they form triangles everywhere up the ice, we have to get down there, I’d love to meet the coach.’

“He sees it through his own way where he can break it down and he might not know how it’s going to relate to what he wants to do, but he wants to apply it in some way.”

Koeman’s comments sit alongside other voices in the game who have criticised the spread of set-piece emphasis, with Arne Slot among those to lament how obsession with dead-ball routines has become widespread across the division.

Summer will bring the familiar long negotiations and headline-grabbing speculation as clubs pursue a handful of marquee targets. Here are five stories most likely to shape the window.

Yan Diomande’s rise has been swift. Up until November 2024 he was in a youth academy in Florida, then moved from the United States to Leganés before an eye-catching switch to RB Leipzig last summer. The 19-year-old has recorded 13 goals and nine assists in an astonishing debut season with Leipzig and is now attracting Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain. Reports value him around €100 million (£87m, $116m). Diomande will represent Côte d’Ivoire at the World Cup, a factor likely to complicate and prolong any transfer.

Enzo Fernández publicly cast doubt over his future during the March international break after flirting with Real Madrid. Speculation over his Chelsea exit has intensified with Manchester City joining the race and Enzo Maresca seen as the likely successor to Pep Guardiola. There is a sense that Chelsea’s final day defeat to Sunderland was Fernández’s last outing for the club, and he looks increasingly unlikely to spearhead Xabi Alonso’s revolution at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are reportedly demanding around £120 million ($161 million), and the player’s participation at the World Cup for Argentina will delay any resolution.

Julián Álvarez remains a central talking point. Having stayed at Atlético Madrid for the 2025/26 campaign, the 26-year-old appears destined to leave Spain’s capital before next season. Barcelona are favourites and are preparing to launch a first official bid of roughly €100 million (£87m, $116m), though Atlético may seek more. Arsenal are also interested despite already possessing Viktor Gyökeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Elliot Anderson’s stock has risen sharply after a breakthrough season with Nottingham Forest and an England call-up for the World Cup. Interest from Manchester City and Manchester United looks significant, with City seemingly in the driving seat despite Guardiola’s exit. It could take about £100 million ($134 million) to complete that move. Anderson’s midfield compatriot Adam Wharton finished the campaign by leading Crystal Palace to Conference League glory, adding to the FA Cup won last term, and Palace face Europe-wide interest. Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd have all been mentioned, with Palace valuing Wharton at approximately £100 million ($134 million).