‘A Joke’ – Ex-PGMOL Chief Slams Ball in Play Time During Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

In what was deemed the blockbuster clash of the weekend, Stamford Bridge played host to Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday – and ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to share a concern about the all-London clash. Footage of said issue has also emerged.

Despite being reduced to ten men in the first half after Moises Caicedo’s rash challenge on Mikel Merino, Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring three minutes after the re-start after latching onto Reece James’ inviting cross and nodding past David Raya.

Perhaps thanks to James’ all-action performance in the middle of the park, Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders were unable to make use of their numerical advantage to secure all three points. A share of the spoils, it was, as Merino levelled proceedings just shy of the hour mark.

Hackett Raises Issue Following Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Arsenal may have only picked up the solitary point in their visit to west London, but they’ve remained at the top of the table, five points ahead of nearest challengers Manchester City. Chelsea have accrued 24 points from their opening 13 outings – and they’ll be looking to close the gap on the north Londoners in the coming weeks.

Hackett, following the two sides’ 1-1 draw, first took to social media to praise the referee. He said: “Well done Anthony Taylor. Having indicated to the Arsenal player where he wanted the throw in to be taken the Arsenal player ignored his instructions. Taylor reversed the throw and awarded it to Chelsea.”

In response, though, a fan questioned the decision to award just four minutes of added time at the end of the match given the number of stoppages in play. Hackett, formerly of the PGMOL, insisted the timing of matches are ‘frankly a joke’. He wrote:

Footage of the Stamford Bridge encounter has now emerged, proving that the added time – at the end of the first and second half – did not correlate to the amount of time which was spent not playing as the ball was out of play.

The compilation of clips proved the ball was out of play for a total of eight minutes and 37 seconds in the first half, but Anthony Taylor only offered an additional five minutes before the half-time interval. For example, five minutes and 26 seconds went by from the time play stopped to re-assess the decision to give Caicedo a yellow card to when Rice took the throw-in to resume play.

For the second 45, the ball was out of play for nine minutes and seven seconds, which included an array of second-half substitutions and the celebration for Merino’s equaliser; Taylor, at the end of the match, issued a mere four minutes of additional time.

Arsenal and Chelsea’s 2025/26 Premier League Prospects

Can Arsenal finally end their Premier League trophy drought? The Gunners – widely regarded as one of the biggest clubs to never win the Champions League – have improved tenfold under the stewardship of Arteta, but a lack of silverware has raised questions over whether they can rub shoulders with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

To start the 2025/26 campaign, they’ve stolen a march at the summit of the table after coming second in back-to-back-to-back seasons. Having lost the solitary match thus far, they look a cut above the rest in England’s top flight, and it’s now just a question of whether their stability at the top is sustainable.

On the other hand, the Blues will be looking to earn a spot at Europe’s top table for the second season running. Under Enzo Maresca, the side from west London – spearheaded by the talismanic Cole Palmer – finished fourth last time out but with Liverpool slacking, there is every chance of them securing glory come May. Whether they have a team strong enough to reign supreme remains to be seen.