The history of football is littered with fateful moments that convince you a certain outcome is a foregone conclusion, and Arsenal’s seismic victory over West Ham can be added to that long list.Â
The Gunners required a late goal and a contentious VAR review to battle past the relegation-threatened Hammers in a ridiculously dramatic conclusion to the London derby.Â
If ever there was a match to persuade Arsenal fans and neutrals alike that the club’s agonizing 22-year wait for a league title was coming to an end, this was it: a dysfunctional, ugly performance where injuries and tactical missteps allowed the rank underdogs to get into the ascendancy, before the Gunners were rescued by a player who hadn’t scored in 26 games via a deflected finish with just seven minutes left on the clock.
And if that wasn’t already fateful enough, there was of course more unbelievable drama to come as Callum Wilson’s would-be 95th-minute equalizer was controversially disallowed following a near four-minute VAR review that must have felt like a lifetime for those in the away end at the London Stadium.
The victory and the nature of it mean that even the most pessimistic Arsenal supporter will now be starting to believe that this really is their year, with just two matches left to play that both come against sides currently in the bottom six.
The late theater of Sunday’s clash was season-defining for Arsenal; this could be their ‘Aguerooo’, their Robin van Persie volley, their Vincent Kompany screamer.Â
And it was apt, really, that the two moments that may well win the title for this particular side were so unaesthetic.
Mikel Arteta’s men have been derided all season long for the nature in which they have ground out victories, maximizing set-pieces and finding a way to win by whatever means necessary.Â
It was appropriate, then, that it was a deflected strike and an officiating decision that centered on near-universal tussling from a corner that ensured they collected a seismic three points at West Ham’s expense.
Leandro Trossard hadn’t scored for 26 games when he popped up to sweep home Martin Odegaard’s pass via a big deflection off Tomas Soucek with just seven minutes left on the clock, restoring Arsenal’s five-point lead over Manchester City at the death.Â
But, of course, that moment of huge drama would be surpassed by a VAR review for the ages.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, the ball eventually fell to Wilson from a corner and he blasted the ball home despite the best efforts of Declan Rice behind the goal-line.Â
But West Ham would be denied their own euphoric moment while Arsenal fans were given another, as the VAR recommended a review and referee Chris Kavanagh cha
