Arsenal did not help themselves with PGMOL statement but now is time to enforce actual change

It was bound to happen. In an ideal world after the farce that was Anthony Gordon's winning goal for Newcastle against Arsenal, we would be having a mature debate about the processes by which VAR award goals. Sadly that is not where we live.

Predictably, analysis of the incident has become a tribal affair. If you are an Arsenal fan then the chances are that you will immediately fall into line behind Mikel Arteta and label the decision «a disgrace». If you are someone with allegiances to any other team then you're probably going to view the incident through the prism of something similar to 'same old Arsenal, always moaning'. It's not exactly surprising that Jamie O'Hara and Rio Ferdinand, whose Tottenham and Manchester United ties colour their analysis to almost insufferable degrees, have come out in criticism of the Gunners.

Make no mistake, Arsenal have not helped themselves. Their statement, while justified, ultimately did little to suggest how to bring about actual change. «PGMOL urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies,» it read. How groundbreaking…

Manically repeating 'it needs to improve' week after week is not actually moving the needle forward on this issue. The reality that no one seems to want to accept is that the standard of refereeing is a long-term issue. There are very few quick fixes.

If you are someone after the sugar rush of instant change, then there are probably a few things to be spoken about. In the aftermath of Saturday's fiasco we can certainly ask why, in the richest league in the world, there is still no technology to determine whether a ball is in or out of play, and why there