Arsenal Secure Victory and Edge Closer to Championship Following VAR Disallowance of West Ham's Late Leveller

Nuno Espirito Santos team might have felt some anxiety when facing an Arsenal squad that appeared highly motivated in their quest for a first league crown in over two decades.

The north Londoners nearly opened the scoring in the first ten minutes, as Mads Hermansen parried Leandro Trossards header, only for the Belgians follow up to strike the upright.

Konstantinos Mavropanos effectively stopped Riccardo Calafioris effort from a header off Declan Rices set piece, keeping the east London defence under constant pressure.

Yet things did not go smoothly for Mikel Artetas men when Ben White suffered an injury and was substituted by Martin Zubimendi after a clash with Crysencio Summerville.

With Rice unexpectedly moved to the right defensive position, West Ham spotted a chance to attack first via Summerville, who advanced and shot just astray.

The home team finished the opening period on a positive note, with David Raya executing a solid stop to deflect Taty Castellanos header, following an excellent delivery from Aaron Wan Bissaka at the conclusion of a captivating half.

Arteta adjusted tactics once more before the second half by bringing on Cristhian Mosquera instead of Calafiori and restoring Rice to his central role, though this failed to stop Arsenal from beginning the latter stage sluggishly.

The disjointed play clearly favoured West Ham more, and replacement Pablo nearly provided a major lift to their relegation battle by poking an effort wide from El Hadji Malick Dioufs inviting pass.

Nuno Espirito Santos outfit created an even stronger chance to go ahead when Raya executed an outstanding close range denial on Mateus Fernandes, momentarily threatening Arsenals championship ambitions.

This moment turned out to be pivotal, with Trossard scoring his initial goal of the year via a deflected effort from Martin Odegaards pass, maintaining their hold on the Premier League trophy and widening the gap for West Ham below.

Additional tension arose in the closing stages as Callum Wilson netted at the very end to seemingly offer the hosts a vital boost, yet Pablo received a penalty for fouling Raya, allowing Arsenal to cling on for the thrilling three points.

This result hit West Ham hard, leaving them one point behind Tottenham, despite having completed an extra fixture in the relegation scrap.

For Arsenal, this win concludes an excellent seven days, keeping their aspirations for both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles firmly alive.