It was the most extraordinary finale to an occasion when the tension seemed to override everything. The spectacle was suffocated. There was almost too much at stake for both teams. And then there we were, the players from each team standing on the sideline behind the referee, Chris Kavanagh, as he pored over the replay monitor on the advice of the video assistant, Darren England, his heart hammering, like that of everybody else inside the stadium.
Arsenal led 1-0 through Leandro Trossard’s 83rd minute goal, which had come shortly after David Raya had produced a massive one-on-one save to deny the West Ham midfielder, Mateus Fernandes. Now West Ham had their lifeline. Or had they? It all came down to Kavanagh’s interpretation of the moment when West Ham sent their goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen, forward for an all-or-nothing 95th minute corner and, after a melee of bodies, the West Ham substitute, Callum Wilson, had lashed a shot over the line.
The problem for West Ham was that another substitute, Pablo, had gone up for the corner with an arm stretched out across Raya, who cried foul. Loudly. So did everyone connected to Arsenal, either here or watching from further afield. Kavanagh took an age over the decision and as he deliberated, it was no exaggeration to feel that the Premier League title was at stake. Perhaps, the final relegation place, too.
