How the English Premier League Table Would Look Like if VAR Wasn’t Used: Arsenal, Leicester Greatest Winners

• A new set of statistics show that Arsenal could have finished in Champions League places had the Video Assistant Referee not been in use during the concluded season
• Leicester City could have risen two places and qualified for the Europa League with Manchester United finishing eighth and missing out completely on European football
• The relegation battle could have seen Burnley pip Leeds United to safety by a single point with the Jesse Marsch side dropping to the Championship

The introduction of the Video Assistant Referee into football has not been without controversy. The VAR, as it is commonly referred to, has been in use in the top-flight of English football since the 2019/2020 season.

It is used to review decisions on the credibility of goals, whether there was an offside or a foul in the build-up. It is also used to check whether there was a dismissible offence or a red card offence.

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VAR is a double-edged sword that has seen teams benefit and lose in equal measure. Planet Football and ESPN took into account a hypothetical season that the VAR wasn’t in use. The algorithm uses the first VAR call that was used in a game. The report argues that the subsequent calls in the game couldn’t have been possible because the direction of the whole game was altered.

Arsenal are the biggest benefactors in the new table as they could have qualified for Champions League football. Leeds, meanwhile survived relegation by a whisker, but in the new table, they could have been relegated.

Here’s how the full table without VAR looks like:

1. Manchester City

Points without VAR: 94

2. Liverpool

Points without VAR: 92

3. Chelsea

Points without VAR: 74

4. Arsenal

Points without VAR: 73

5. Tottenham

Points without VAR: 69

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6. Leicester City

Points without VAR: 58

7. West Ham

Points without VAR: 56

8. Manchester United

Points without VAR: 56

9. Brighton

Points without VAR: 50

10. Newcastle

Points without VAR: 49

11. Wolves

Points without VAR: 48

12. Brentford

Points without VAR: 48

13. Crystal Palace

Points without VAR: 46

14. Aston Villa

Points without VAR: 43

15. Everton

Points without VAR: 43

16. Southampton

Points without VAR: 37

17. Burnley

Points without VAR: 36

18. Leeds

Points without VAR: 36:

19. Norwich

Points without VAR: 23

20. Watford

Points without VAR: 20

All summer transfer window departures and done deals

Sports Brief is also compiling a list of all the transfers that are happening in the English Premier League.

The transfer window was officially opened on June 10th and clubs are in the race to get acquisitions ahead of next season.

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Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland remain the most important transfer news at the moment with Sadio Mane’s situation at Liverpool also being closely monitored.