The debate surrounding Arsenal’s controversial win over West Ham shows no sign of slowing.
The Gunners boosted their chances of clinching a first Premier League title for 22 years with their narrow victory at the London Stadium, but they were perhaps fortunate to come away with three points after Callum Wilson’s late equaliser was ruled out.
That decision followed a lengthy VAR check, which convicted West Ham’s Pablo Felipe of fouling David Raya as players from both teams grappled in the box.
READ MORE: Foul or no foul? Every expert opinion on West Ham vs Arsenal VAR controversy
The result is to Arsenal’s benefit, but it also leaves West Ham on the brink of relegation, and debate is raging as to whether the officials came to the correct conclusion.
Chief among the voices is Andy Payne OBE, chair of the West Ham Supporters’ Board, who slammed the Premier League for allowing the grappling debate to reach such a furore.
“I watched Jarrod Bowen talk about the fact that if you look at something long enough, you're going to find a problem,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I've looked at it and there were at least two, if not three, Arsenal players bundling my standing place on the floor.
“This business in the Premier League, it's got to be stopped, it is just ridiculous and it's killing the game.”
Another Iron in Jack Elderton countered, acknowledging Felipe’s foul on Raya but making the point that West Ham have come off worse from VAR cals several times this season.
He wrote: “[For what its worth], I think Pablo fouls Raya. The problem is the number of other fouls happening in the box that are ignored.
“We're almost into double figures for points decided in [West Ham] games on completely inconsistent refereeing of grappling this season. It must be infuriating for the players.”
From an Arsenal perspective, though, there is little to debate. Podcaster and Arsenal fan site writer Phil Costa felt the correct side of the debate was ‘clear’.
He wrote on X: “I know this decision will go down terribly and it's en vogue to hate everything that benefits Arsenal, but there are two clear fouls on Raya from that corner.
“Pablo is grabbing his arm and Todibo is pulling his shirt. Both incidents prevent him from catching/punching the ball.”
Another Arsenal fanzine writer, Tim Stillman, concurred with Costa’s take, writing: “I think it's fine for some of you to just say, 'I don't like Arsenal and don't want them to win the league' rather than pretending you have some kind of moral objection based on play style or a VAR call or whatever.
“Be honest about where you are coming from.”
Arsenal’s win over West Ham leaves them five points clear atop the Premier League with two matches left to play. West Ham, meanwhile, are one point adrift of safety, though relegation rivals Tottenham have a game in hand.
