West Ham 0-1 Arsenal: Arteta's men close in on title after Trossard goal and late VAR reprieve

Arsenal took a huge step towards the Premier League title with a dramatic 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened West Ham, who had a potential 95th-minute equaliser disallowed. 

West Ham produced a resolute defensive performance until, in the 83rd minute, Leandro Trossard fired through a crowd of bodies and beyond Mads Hermansen, after strong work from Martin Odegaard. 

The Hammers, who had earlier seen Mateus Fernandes pass up a glaring chance, then saw Callum Wilson strike deep into stoppage time, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to rule Pablo had fouled David Raya following a VAR review.

Arsenal had started the first half strongly and were unfortunate not to go ahead in the ninth minute. Trossard's effort was pushed onto the crossbar by Hermansen, and he got another chance in the ensuing scramble, only for his second header to also hit the woodwork.

But an injury to Ben White knocked Arsenal's rhythm, as Mikel Arteta temporarily moved Declan Rice to right-back. West Ham almost took advantage on the stroke of half-time, but Raya kept Valentin Castellanos' diving header out at full stretch.

Time appeared to stand still when the Hammers carved out an enormous chance, with Fernandes placing his shot from six yards out in the only place that Raya could stop it. 

The Gunners made that reprieve count when Odegaard offloaded for Trossard to finish, but there was another twist to come.

Wilson's drive crossed the line when a West Ham corner was only half cleared, but after a review, referee Chris Kavanagh ruled Pablo had impeded Raya, sparking wild celebrations among the visiting players and supporters.

Arsenal are now two wins from the title, while West Ham could find themselves four points from safety with two games to play, if 17th-placed Tottenham beat Leeds United on Monday. 

Data Debrief: One-nil to the Arsenal

It was fractious, it was nervy, but Arsenal found a route to victory and are now on the brink of their first title since the Invincibles ruled England in 2003-04. 

Trossard's goal, timed at 82 minutes and six seconds, was Arsenal's latest goal in a 1-0 Premier League win since November 2023, when Kai Havertz struck in the 89th minute against Brentford. And of course, there was more drama to come in stoppage time.

Pablo's foul on Raya was the 13th free-kick the Arsenal goalkeeper has won in the Premier League this season, with only Emiliano Martinez (17) winning more among goalkeepers. 

The only scoreline to happen more frequently in the Premier League this season than Arsenal winning 1-0 (seven times) is Manchester City winning 3-0 (eight times).  

West Ham, meanwhile, have lost back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since suffering defeats in their first two outings this year – it ends a streak of six league games unbeaten at home (W3 D3), their joint-longest run in the top flight at London Stadium.