Mikel Arteta hails ‘brave’ referee for ruling out West Ham goal after ‘obvious foul’ in the lastest Arsenal win. Fans of other clubs see this as an embarrassing

MIKEL ARTETA hailed “brave” Chris Kavanagh for ruling out West Ham’s 95th-minute “equaliser” – and putting one Arsenal hand on the Prem trophy.

Arteta’s Gunners were hanging onto the lead from Leandro Trossard’s late goal when Callum Wilson rifled.

But Kavanagh DISALLOWED THE GOAL for a foul by Pablo on David Raya after being sent to the monitor by VAR Darren England.

A relieved Arteta, whose side will end a 22-year wait to be champions if they beat Burnley and Crystal Palace in their last two games, said: “It was a very brave call and consistent with what they’ve been talking about all season.

Mikel Arteta has hailed Kavanagh for bravely ruling out the equaliser

“When I have to be critical, I have been. 

“This time I have to praise them, at least for giving the option to a referee to decide, away from the lights and the chaos, to give clarity to him to make the right call.”

Players from both sides lined up behind Kavanagh as he studied the video pictures 17 times before announcing Pablo’s arm across Raya’s throat was indeed a foul.

Arteta added: “When you look at it, it is an obvious foul, a free kick, and the goal has to be disallowed. 

“So congratulations, because they made a big call in very, very difficult circumstances. 

“I’ve now realised how difficult and how big the referee’s job is because you’re talking about a moment that can decide the history, the course of two massive clubs that are fighting with their lives to achieve their objectives. 

Fans of other Premier League clubs see this as an embarrassing exposure of English refereeing. They argue that the incident in which David Raya was fouled by Pablo was very similar to the way Arsenal often put pressure on opposition goalkeepers from set pieces — except this time, Arsenal were the team being protected.

But replays showed that Pablo restricted Gunners stopper David Raya from getting the ball before it dropped to Wilson

The clearest example came in the first meeting with Manchester United, when Altay Bayındır felt he had been impeded by William Saliba during the corner that led to Arsenal’s goal, but the goal was still allowed to stand.

That is why many rival fans believe the issue is not simply whether West Ham’s goal should have been ruled out, but the lack of consistency: when Arsenal benefit from contact on a goalkeeper, it is treated as normal physical pressure; when Arsenal suffer from it, VAR suddenly steps in and protects them.

However, it must be acknowledged that referee Chris Kavanagh was absolutely right to disallow West Ham’s goal.

All told, the review took two-and-a-half minutes, and the referee was shown 17 different replays of the incident.

The moment could be a title decider, with a draw meaning that Manchester City could have pulled alongside the Gunners in the league if they won their game in hand.