Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he is going “to remember this day” after his side ran out 1-0 winners over West Ham to move five points clear in the Premier League title race.
Leandro Trossard netted with less than 10 minutes of the match remaining at the London Stadium but that was just the beginning of the drama.
Deep into stoppage time, Hammers substitute Callum Wilson fired in what he thought was the equaliser, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR after it was adjudged Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was fouled in the build-up.
“I’m going to certainly remember this day,” Arteta said after the match.
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions. We knew it was going to be really tough, they’re fighting for their lives. We are trying to win the Premier League so there is so much at stake.”
The Gunners had to contend with losing defender Ben White to injury early in the match. The change required a shake-up in personnel, with Declan Rice forced to spend a significant period of the game as a make-shift right-back.
But the Arsenal praised the adaptability of his team, saying: “We threw everything we had to try and win and I think we got rewarded for that courage.”
Speaking about the decision to overturn the West Ham goal, Arteta, who admitted he has been critical of the officials at times this term, hailed them for making what he saw as the correct call.
“It was obviously a big decision,” Arteta said.
“When I had to be critical [of the officials], I have been, and today I have to congratulate them because… clearly it is clear foul.”
Next up for the Gunners is the visit of already-relegated Burnley a week on Monday, before a trip across town to face Crystal Palace on Sunday.
