Arsenal moved to within two wins of their first Premier League title in 22 years on 10 May, edging past West Ham 1-0 at the London Stadium in a match that will be remembered as much for a deeply contentious VAR decision as for Leandro Trossard’s deflected winner seven minutes from time.
Callum Wilson thought he had snatched a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser for the hosts, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to disallow the goal after a lengthy VAR review adjudged that West Ham’s Pablo had fouled goalkeeper David Raya. The decision sparked outraged jeers from the West Ham supporters and furious protests from the players, while Mikel Arteta clenched his fists in undisguised relief on the touchline.
Arsenal are now five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who beat Brentford 3-0 on Saturday. City can reduce the gap to two points if they win their game in hand against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but Arsenal know that victories in their remaining two fixtures against Burnley and Crystal Palace will deliver the title regardless of what City do.
Arsenal were far from their best on the night, struggling to impose themselves on a West Ham side fighting for Premier League survival and growing more dangerous as the match progressed. An early scare came when Trossard went close from a corner, his header well saved by Mads Hermansen before the winger headed the rebound onto the crossbar.
The visitors suffered a significant setback midway through the first half when Ben White limped off with an injury, forcing Declan Rice to drop from midfield into a makeshift right-back role. The positional disruption handed West Ham the initiative and they nearly capitalised just before the interval, with Valentin Castellanos throwing himself at Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross with a diving header that Raya saved brilliantly at full stretch.
Arteta responded at the break, introducing Cristhian Mosquera to allow Rice to return to his natural midfield position. But even that adjustment took time to shift the momentum, and it was Raya who kept Arsenal in the match with a crucial intervention, sticking out his foot to block Mateus Fernandes’ shot from five yards when a goal had looked certain.
The breakthrough finally came in the 83rd minute. Martin Odegaard played a precise one-two with Rice before threading a clever pass to Trossard, whose strike from 12 yards took a hefty deflection on its way past Hermansen and into the net.
West Ham refused to accept their fate. Deep into stoppage time, Raya fumbled the ball and Wilson reacted sharply to fire home what appeared to be a dramatic equaliser. The London Stadium erupted, but the celebrations were cut short as Kavanagh and the VAR officials spent an agonising length of time reviewing the incident before ruling that Pablo’s arm across Raya’s chest had constituted a foul. West Ham were incensed, arguing that there had also been fouls by Rice and Trossard in the same passage of play. The contact was minimal, and the decision will fuel debate for days.
Arsenal have now reached their first Champions League final since 2006, having beaten Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals last week, and will face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on 30 May. Winning the Premier League and a maiden Champions League crown in the same season would represent the greatest achievement in the club’s 139-year history.
Thierry Henry, a central figure in the unbeaten Invincibles side that won Arsenal’s last title in 2003-04, has already declared that Arteta’s squad will be known as the “unforgettables” if they complete the double. Three wins from immortality. The wait goes on, but the destination is now firmly in sight.
For West Ham, the result leaves their relegation hopes fading. They sit one point behind fourth-bottom Tottenham, who face Leeds on Monday in a match that could prove equally decisive at the wrong end of the table.
