By Martyn Herman; Reuters.
Arsenal cleared arguably the most dangerous remaining obstacle in their path to the Premier League title by the skin of their teeth as Leandro Trossard’s late goal secured a dramatic 1-0 win at West Ham United to restore their five-point lead on Sunday.
The visitors were living dangerously at the London Stadium but Trossard guided home a low shot from Martin Odegaard’s pass in the 83rd minute to spark delirium amongst the Arsenal fans and despair in the home ranks.
Arsenal rode their luck and survived a huge scare deep in stoppage time as West Ham substitute Callum Wilson had an equaliser ruled out for a foul after a long VAR review.
Victory put Arsenal a step closer to a first Premier League title since 2004 and they will be crowned champions if they win their last two games at home to Burnley and away to Crystal Palace on the final day.
Arsenal have 79 points from 36 games with Manchester City, who have a game in hand, on 74.
For West Ham it was a bitter pill to swallow as defeat left them staring at relegation and they could find themselves four points from the safety zone with two games left if Tottenham Hotspur beat Leeds United on Monday.
If Arsenal do go on to lift the title, the incident in stoppage time described by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville as the “biggest VAR call in the history of the Premier League” will be just a detail in a season-long slog with Manchester City.
But it could have serious implications for West Ham who would have deserved a point for a gritty display.
With time almost up and even West Ham keeper Mads Hermansen up for a corner, the ball broke for Wilson who slammed a shot through a forest of legs and over the line.
West Ham fans went wild and Manchester City’s probably did too. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta looked aghast but when the VAR instructed referee Chris Kavanagh to look at a possible foul by West Ham substitute Pablo on Arsenal keeper David Raya in the build-up, the stadium fell silent.
He returned to announce that the goal was disallowed and Arsenal could breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Rarely can a London derby have carried such high stakes, with a web of permutations involving not only West Ham and Arsenal but also their common London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal fans knew victory at West Ham would move them a step closer to glory, yet that result would also hand Tottenham a gift in their fight to stay above West Ham and avoid a first relegation since 1977.
Tottenham’s fans would have faced similarly conflicted emotions as they watched from afar while West Ham’s were just focussed on extending the club’s 14-season stay in the top flight and piling further pressure on Tottenham.
Arsenal set about their task with real authority. Trossard was twice denied — first by an outstanding save from Hermansen and then by the woodwork — during a dominant opening spell. Riccardo Calafiori was also thwarted by a goal-saving block from Konstantinos Mavropanos.
West Ham continued to ride their luck, William Saliba’s close-range touch cleared off the line.
There were some jittery moments for the visitors too with West Ham almost snatching the lead just before halftime when Valentin Castellanos threw himself at a deep cross and his header was saved at full stretch by Raya.
Arsenal did suffer a blow in the first half with right back Ben White hobbling off injured and Declan Rice initially covering before Arteta re-shuffled at halftime.
Cristhian Mosquera came off the bench to play at right back with Calafiori surprisingly substituted and Myles Lewis-Skelly switching from midfield to left back.
Arsenal struggled to make headway in a tense second period and it was West Ham who grew in belief.
Mateus Fernandes spurned a huge chance for the hosts when he played a one-two with Pablo and looked set to score but Raya made a crucial reflex save. Almost immediately Arsenal struck as Odegaard played in Trossard and the Belgian fired home.
Premier League Results
Brighton 3-0 Wolves
Aston Villa 2-2 Burnley
Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle United.