Ben White gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead early doors in the Gunners' semi-final Carabao Cup match with Chelsea on Wednesday evening, but the goal wasn't without its controversy
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter
21:47, 14 Jan 2026
Ben White celebrates with team-mates
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Ben White's goal stood(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea have been told that Arsenal's opener in Wednesday evening's Carabao Cup clash was correctly awarded, despite debates surrounding VAR reliability.
Ben White found the net for the Gunners within just seven minutes, meeting Declan Rice's precise corner unmarked at the far post. Yet as the ball nestled in the back of the net, Viktor Gyokeres seemed to be obstructing Marc Guiu whilst in an offside position.
VAR spent minimal time examining the incident, swiftly dismissing any infringement and allowing the goal to stand. A Sky Sports punditry team of Mark Chapman, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Jamie Redknapp analysed the moment during the interval, with Chapman saying: "It was briefly looked at by VAR, but their decision, because it is subjective, is Gyokeres is not impacting the ability of an opponent to play the ball."
To which, Hasselbaink responded: "For me it's not offside. It's well worked from Arsenal, well done. We all spoke about it before the game that they are strong in their set pieces - and he's not looking at the ball."
Chapman continued: "And they were able to do that very quickly, Jarred Gillet on VAR, 'I'm deciding he isn't impacting anybody's ability to play the ball. Goal, move on," whilst Redknapp joked: "Thank goodness.
"Otherwise they would have had to give all the supporters in here a duvet while they wait for it to decide. You can't," reports the Mirror.
It comes as Manchester City had a goal chalked off in the same tournament on Tuesday night against Newcastle United. The Citizens were already leading 1-0 at that point thanks to Antoine Semenyo's strike in the 53rd minute.
Ben White heads the ball
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Ben White opened the scoring for Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
However, the Ghanaian was refused a second goal approximately 10 minutes later. Semenyo made contact with Tijjani Reijnders' corner using his thigh as the ball bounced beyond a helpless Nick Pope, but jubilation amongst the away side proved brief.
After noticing Erling Haaland positioned offside in front of Malick Thiaw during the incident, VAR chose to step in, requesting Chris Kavanagh review the situation on the touchline monitor. Although he never made contact with the ball, Haaland was judged to have hindered Thiaw's capacity to clear the ball, with Kavanagh explaining: "After review, Manchester City number nine is in an offside position and impacts the ability of the defender. Final decision offside."
Chris Sutton - who provided co-commentary for Sky Sports during the match - remained thoroughly unimpressed by the ruling. He said: "I've got to tell you, I think the game's gone.
Antoine Semenyo puts the ball past Nick Pope
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Antoine Semenyo was denied a brace against Newcastle(Image: Getty Images)
"Is he really going to stop that Thiaw? You think the distance from Semenyo...a yard, a yard-and-a-half. Thiaw's not going to react to that. That's just a sheer guess from the referee."
During the review, he also explained: "You see the contact from Semenyo. Is Haaland really interfering that much with Nick Pope?" before he later said: "I've got to say, I don't see it that way. Look at the distance that Semenyo is away from Nick Pope. I think this would be incredibly harsh to rule this out."
While Newcastle were handed a reprieve following the ruling, it merely postponed what seemed unavoidable at St James' Park in broader context. Rayan Cherki guaranteed the Citizens would enter the return leg at the Etihad Stadium on February 4 holding a two-goal cushion after striking in the match's final moments.
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