Trossard and monumental late VAR call keep Arsenal on title track
The big screen showing a VAR decision to disallow West Ham United's Callum Wilson goal during the Premier League match at London Stadium. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.
Leandro Trossard’s name was being sung here and all over North London with glorious glee after his late, late goal sent Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League table and left West Ham cast adrift of Tottenham in the relegation zone.
Mikel Arteta’s men were strangely out of tune after failing to capitalise on a plethora of first-half chances and seemed fated to let Manchester City back into the title race until Trossard struck in the 83rd minute. More drama followed when Callum Wilson had a 96th-minute equaliser rightly disallowed after a lengthy VAR decision.
Arteta’s side can now win the Premier League crown for the first time in 22 years with a home win over Burnley and three points at Crystal Palace in their two remaining games. That is assuming, of course, City win their final three fixtures too.
For West Ham, they need something from a trip to Newcastle United and at home to Leeds. If Tottenham win their matches, starting at home to Leeds on Monday night, they send the east London side down. Leeds, as a result of this result, are now safe.
Arsenal recorded eight attempts on goal in the opening 16 minutes as the Hammers miraculously survived without conceding.
With West Ham seemingly content to ride their luck and wait for a break, the one way traffic continued and former Arsenal defender Konstantino Mavropanos cleared a Riccardo Calafiori header off the line.
The anxious home fans finally came, to life after a series of crunching tackles left boo-boy victim Ben White down injured and unable to play on. Arteta made the unexpected call of switching Declan Rice from midfield to right back and sending Martin Zubimendi on from the bench when he had a ready-made replacement for White in Christhian Mosquera.
Arsenal lost their rhythm. West Ham began to have more of the ball and the match descended into a nervy, bitty contest. The Arsenal players began to look frustrated, notably with referee Chris Kavanagh who let a series of bad fouls go, booking only Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos.
West Ham, almost inevitably, then had a great chance to take the lead as Castellanos directed a flying header goalward, only to be denied by a strong David Raya save.
Arteta tried to make amends for his substitution error by sending on Mosquera for the start of the second half and sacrificing Calafiori. His side was no better. They had not scored a second-half goal in any of their previous seven matches, so someone would need to step up to avoid losing the initiative in the title race.
West Ham, meanwhile, looked content with a point and were relying on their five-man defensive wall in a match they were widely expected to lose by a wide margin.
Arteta tried to refresh his side by sending on Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard for the final 20 minutes or so as the below par Zubimendi and Ebere Eze made way.
West Ham sub Pablo nearly made the most impact when he escaped punishment for what initially looked like a handball in the penalty area. It really looked like a day when everything was going to go West Ham’s way on the 46th anniversary of the day a Second Division West Ham side shocked Arsenal to win the 1980 FA Cup Final.
Then Odegaard worked some magic to set up Trossard for a clinical low right foot finish from inside the edge of the area to send the Arsenal fans into scenes of delirious celebration.
Some of them then walked out in horror when Wilson hit the back of the net with 96 minutes on the clock. Hopefully, for their sake, they made it back in to learn the goal had been ruled out for a Pablo foul on Raya.
Breathless drama right to the final whistle before the Arsenal supporters camped in for long, raucous celebrations.
Hermansen 8, Wan-Bissaka 7, Disasi 6 (Wilson 85), Mavropanos 7, Todibo 6, Diouf 6, Soucek 6, Fernandes 5, Summerville 6, Bowen 6, Castellanos 5 (Pablo 66). Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Magassa, Scarles, Potts, Kante.
Raya 6, White 6 (Zubimendi 28, Havertz 67), Saliba 6, Gabriel 6, Calafiori 7 (Mosquera 46), Lewis-Skelly 7, Rice 5, Eze 5 (Odegaard 67), Trossard 7, Saka 5 (Madueke 80), Gyokeres 6. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Hincapie, Martinelli, Dowman.
Chris Kavanagh 4
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