Arsenal vs Chelsea: Why VAR disallowed Riccardo Calafiori goal

Arsenal and Chelsea meet early in the London derby on Sunday in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium, and there have already been plenty of talking points.

At the time of writing, the Gunners have equalised through Kai Havertz after Chelsea opened the scoring inside two minutes.

The Blues made a flying start when £117m summer signing Morgan Rogers put them ahead, with the goal already his second of the season.

The game was played at a frantic pace, with the Gunners piling on the pressure as a barrage of attacks followed in their search for an equaliser.

The Gunners restored parity in the 25th minute when Havertz shot from distance with his left foot, but Emiliano Martinez could not keep it out.

Riccardo Calafiori goal ruled out by VAR

#ARSCHE – 12’ VAR OVERTURN

VAR checked the referee’s call of goal – and determined that Konsa was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was disallowed.

— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) September 6, 2026

In the 12th minute of the match, Arsenal thought they had equalised through defender Riccardo Calafiori.

The delivery from Declan Rice was not the best, but the attempted clearance was missed by Joao Pedro at the near post.

It resulted in chaos as Emi Martinez made a save, but the ball clipped the woodwork before Calafiori scored.

After a VAR check, the goal was ruled out, with the Premier League providing an explanation that Ezri Konsa was in an offside position in the build-up.

Arsenal vs Chelsea: Major stats

© Imago / Sports Press Photo

Mikel Arteta once again named Myles Lewis-Skelly in the starting line-up, and the youngster has become the first English teenager to start each of Arsenal's first three Premier League games of a season.

The Gunners boss will be unhappy with the opening goal, as it was the first time since 2023 that they had conceded inside the opening two minutes.

Both teams had made a perfect start to the season by winning their opening two games, and there is plenty of time left in the match for either side to secure all three points.