Is it a fair call or blatant robbery?! Did VAR award Arsenal the Premier League title against West Ham?

The game's pivotal moment when West Ham believed they had saved a point, but VAR had other ideas. (Image credits – Heute; licence details).

Arsenal took a massive step towards the Premier League title as they edged out West Ham 1-0 at the London Stadium in a controversial game as the Hammers had a late equaliser disallowed. This could very well be the title-deciding factor of this season, as if the Gunners dropped points in this game, Manchester City would have leapfrogged them in the table after their emphatic 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. West Ham, who are struggling in a relegation battle against Tottenham Hotspur, failed to get out of the relegation zone after this controversial loss.

This was potentially the most ‘title-deciding' decision made by the VAR, which took over four minutes to check and overturn the decision in favour of Arsenal as chaos erupted in a nervy few minutes in London. This decision was not only consequential for Arsenal, who are just two games away from lifting the Premier League, but also for West Ham, who have just two games remaining to escape from relegation this season for the first time since getting promoted in 2012.

The Gunners were made to wait for quite long for a lead by a resolute West Ham defence. The visitors took the lead through Leandro Trossard’s 83rd-minute goal. Mikel Arteta's side thought they had earned all three points until Callum Wilson slotted in from a corner in a packed Arsenal box, which failed to clear the ball away. The Hammers celebrated wildly, while it was a ‘Do you get déjà vu?' moment for Arteta, who had his hands on his head. However, the Arsenal players were furious and surrounded the referee to protest for a VAR check, which later became one of the lengthiest and most consequential decisions ever.

To remain in the Premier League, West Ham must win their remaining games against Newcastle and Leeds United while hoping Tottenham drops points. (Image credits – Heute; licence details).

The Gunners claimed that the keeper David Raya had been fouled by Pablo and West Ham keeper Mads Hermansen, who came diving towards the Spanish international. VAR official Darren England had to make one of the most controversial decisions in Premier League history as he sent the match official Chris Kavanagh to review the decision on the screen. VAR decisions have never been so important before, especially with both sides being affected by the decision, as Arsenal's title hopes, along with West Ham’s survival hopes, lie on this single decision by the video assistant referee.

After a lengthy check, the referee announced that Pablo had committed a foul on David Raya as Arsenal fans across the globe breathed a sigh of relief, while it was the polar opposite for the West Ham fans, who thought they had earned a crucial point in their hope for survival this season. While Arsenal claimed a massive win, their rivals alleged that the Gunners robbed a victory and pushed their London rivals towards the brink of relegation this season. Nuno now has two games left against Newcastle United and Leeds United to rescue the Hammers and keep them in the Premier League next season.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised the official’s decision for being brave enough to make the decision despite facing all sorts of pressure and persuasion from West Ham. He says, "Probably today I have realised how difficult a referee's job is and how big it is. I realised for the referees to be in that position, to make that call and change the course of one of the two teams.What a responsibility. What a big call.” (sic)

He further added, “It was a massive call, but it was clearly the right call. My first instinct was foul, but then time goes by, and the referee is waiting for the VAR decision – but when you look at it, the contact affects the way David Raya lifts his hands and the way he catches the ball. It is almost in his throat. Massive decision, especially when the two teams are fighting for such big things.” (sic)

Can Mikel Arteta's side hold their nerve against Burnley and Crystal Palace and win their first league title since 2004? (Image credits – Heute; licence details).

The VAR official was under huge pressure while making the decision, as he'd once been in the spotlight for a wrong reason when he made a terrible mistake in 2023, as he couldn't interpret the on-field offside decision which led to Luis Diaz’s fair goal getting ruled out for offside against Tottenham Hotspur. Darren England was under scrutiny following that game and had to be regularly consistent to get back to top-flight refereeing again. On Sunday, he had to make a decision which could decide the ultimate fate of two clubs, and he didn't have any scope for making any error, which is probably why he took so long to check the replay.

The 40-year-old almost took around three minutes to check all angles of the replay, the possibility of fouls by other players or on other players, and also potential penalties. The Arsenal box was completely crowded, and there was plenty of shoving, pushing and players going down at the same time, which made it extremely difficult to call out a single foul from that instance. The decision seemed quite fair, as it would've been a simple catch for Raya if Pablo hadn't made any contact with the Spanish international.

Darren England also checked about the possibility of a potential foul by Leandro Trossard on Pablo and Declan Rice on former Leeds forward Summerville. However, those instances did not have a direct impact on the play, but Pablo’s foul on Raya did have a direct impact on play, and at the end of the day, the VAR official and the match official made the right decision to rule the goal out. Arsenal are almost grabbing the Premier League now, with just two games to go for both them and Manchester City. It'll head down to the final match day if both teams win their next game.