VAR might have decided the Premier League, but Arsenal have found their mentality

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard (right), Leandro Trossard, Gabriel and Kai Havertz celebrate after the Premier League match at London Stadium. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire. 

It may become known as the day that VAR won the Premier League but Arsenal’s incredible last-minute let-off at West Ham also underlined that Mikel Arteta’s side now have the kind of momentum that even Manchester City cannot overturn.

When West Ham’s last-gasp goal from Callum Wilson was ruled out for a foul on David Raya by Pablo it set off wild celebrations in the away end of the London Stadium and put the Gunners five points clear of City at the top of the table.

There will be critics, and Arsenal have a few, who say they were lucky and others that claim West Ham were cheated.

But the bottom line is that when you play a match in which one team is fighting relegation and the other is going for the title, then it’s a game that champions simply have to find a way to win.

And Arsenal, with a goal from the under-rated Leandro Trossard, plus a helping hand from VAR and referee Christopher Kavanagh, did just that.

Whether it also lifts the burden of criticism that has dogged the Gunners remains to be seen but there’s big feeling now that they are heading for glory.

Let’s be honest, it was by no means Arsenal’s best performance of the campaign. It was bitty, it was lacking in big chances, it needed Raya, as so often, to be on top form – and it required a fine cameo from captain Martin Odegaard to get them over the line.

But when Leandro Trossard crowned a high-level personal performance by drilling home after 84 minutes, the shackles of anxiety were shed. Surely, nobody can now criticise the character of this Arsenal side, already through to the Champions League final and now within touching distance of a long-awaited league title.

City, of course, have a game in hand, against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but Arsenal’s final two fixtures are home to Burnley and away to Palace, who have a Conference League Final on their minds, which leaves them as firm favourites. Especially if they can combine passion, hard work and luck as they did in east London.

It has been a bumpy old ride but there must surely be a growing feeling that ‘second again’ Arsenal are about to finally do it.

Chasing their first Premier League trophy since 2004, when Thierry Henry and the Invincibles went unbeaten, Arteta’s side have been top of the table for pretty much the entire campaign but without convincing neutrals they deserved a place in wider football history.

That rhetoric reached a crescendo in April after they lost 2-1 at title rivals City, went out of the FA Cup to Championship side Southampton and lost miserably at home to Bournemouth - encouraging an agenda that the ‘second again’ team were about to throw it away again.

Except they haven’t.

The way that Arsenal have responded since that difficult night at the Etihad has started to win over the critics, earning grudging admiration from unexpected quarters. Even Roy Keane dialled down the anti-Arsenal rhetoric after their gritty victory over Atletico Madrid to reach the Champions League Final.

But it hasn’t only been grit, there has also been an outbreak of football following a run of matches in which Arsenal seemed hampered if not by pressure then certainly by fatigue the absence of key players.

That quality was less on show at the London Stadium, other than in the first 20 minutes, but the character, belief and fight was certainly there.

The way Arteta has handled it has been interesting.

Yes, he had the luxury of bringing back Bukayo Saka, which was always going to be a game changer, but also brought Myles Lewis-Skelly out of the doldrums and into midfield with remarkable results. Who would have predicted that?

And, equally as important, striker Viktor Gyokeres, much-maligned and criticised since his big-money move last summer, suddenly found his feet.

West Ham, however, was always going to be a test of the ‘new’ Arsenal, especially after City came through a tough test against Brentford to win 3-0 and edge closer at the top of the table.

Arteta’s side were dominant in the early stages, with Trossard seeing one header saved and another hit the bar, and Saka wasting a good opportunity. But they soon had to show their fighting spirit as West Ham hit back, with Raya – so often the hero of this season – making another remarkable save from Taty Castellanos’ diving header.

Raya was on it in the second half, too, and only the arrival of Odegaard - and that VAR moment – changed things.

Luck? Fate? A wrong decision? We can debate that all day and the analysis will last for weeks, even after the trophy is lifted.

But Arsenal have found their mentality at the right moment - and the opportunity now is there to make this the best season in their 139-year history.

Yes, there have been many remarkable champions for the Gunners over that time but never one that won the European Cup too – and that opportunity is up for grabs in Budapest against PSG on 30 May.

VAR may have played a role but don’t underestimate what Arsenal have put into this season and what they have been through to get here.