5 referee decisions that have gone against Arsenal this season

4. Penalty decision vs Everton (April 2025)

For the record, I do not consider this one to be a howler, but still…

Arsenal made the trip to Everton in early April and held a slender 1-0 lead at the break. The half-time message might well have been to keep things tight for the second half but that all unravelled just one minute later, when Lewis-Skelly fouled Jack Harrison in the penalty box.

There are cases to be made on both sides. For Everton, it appears Lewis-Skelly tried to shield the ball back to Raya and got it wrong before clumsily bundling Harrison to the ground. Arsenal would argue that both players were pulling at each other and that, even if there was contact, it was very soft and not worthy of a spot kick.

If referee Darren England had not given it on-field, then VAR most likely would not have intervened. But the Gunners ultimately came out the wrong side of this 50/50 call and Toffees’ forward, Iliman Ndiaye, made no mistake from 12 yards.

It was the only decent chance Everton had all match and it dealt a knockout blow to our title hopes (not that much remained of them anyway), allowing Arsenal to focus their energy on the Champions League quarter-finals instead…

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