Arsenal suffer title blow as West Ham take advantage of VAR controversy - 6 talking points

 

Arsenal suffered their first home defeat of the season, missing their chance to return to top spot in the league as West Ham United took advantage of a contentious VAR call before defending resolutely in a 2-0 win.

West Ham took the lead with their first real attack, Tomas Soucek tucking the ball home from close range after a defensive mix-up from the hosts, but there were questions over whether the ball drifted out of play in the build-up. The visitors were dealt a blow not long after, though, with Lucas Paqueta - who had earlier gone down in the warm-up - limping off.

Arsenal were inches away from a leveller late in the first half when Bukayo Saka shashed a shot against the post, but the second goal was the visitors' too as Dinos Mavropanos headed home against his former club. The hosts launched attack after attack in the second half, with Gabriel Jesus missing a couple of presentable chances and Martin Odegaard stinging Areola's palms, but West Ham hung on and even had time for Said Benrahma to miss a late penalty.

The visitors took the lead in the corresponding fixture last season and did so again on this occasion. Their opener owed a lot to some shambolic Arsenal defending as players got in each other's way attempting to clear an Emerson cross, allowing Jarrod Bowen to lay on a tap-in for Soucek.

Arsenal came close to a leveller seconds before the half-hour mark as Alphonse Areola tipped a Saka header over the bar. Saka went close again late in the first half, only for Mavropanos to double the away side's lead.

After beating Arsenal once in the Carabao Cup, they have now repeated the trick in the league. Here are Mirror Football's talking points as David Moyes got a long-awaited win at the Emirates Stadium.

1. The finest of margins

You can't get much closer than the call which allowed West Ham's opener to stand. Had the on-field officials ruled that the ball drifted out of play before Bowen's touch, that decision might have stood amid inconclusive evidence, but instead the hosts saw Michael Oliver confirm the goal would stand.

West Ham's opener stood after a long VAR check

"The on-field decision is a goal, so they have to find conclusive evidence that the ball has gone out of play," former Premier League ref Mark Clattenburg said during Amazon Prime's coverage. "From the angles I have seen, the ball looks to be slightly in play."

Even after the controversy, though, Arsenal had chances to respond. That they struggled to do so owes a lot to their opponents' defensive efforts.

2. More Zinchenko questions

Oleksandr Zinchenko's attacking quality and link-up play with Gabriel Martinelli have served Arsenal well since the left-back's arrival from Manchester City in 2022. Defensively, though, some questions still remain.

With Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu both missing, Zinchenko's place has been a little more secure than at other times. However, the poor communication between him and Gabriel in the lead-up to the opening goal didn't exactly make it more secure.

On the bright side, a two goal deficit allowed Arsenal to sacrifice the left-back for another attacking player in the form or Reiss Nelson. Longer term, though, Arteta might be thinking it's time to push Zinchenko into midfield and seek out defensive reinforcements.

3. Ogbonna stars after coming back in

Angelo Ogbonna was put through his paces

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Image:

IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)

Since suffering an ACL injury in the first half of the 2021-22 season Angelo Ogbonna has been far from a first choice in East London. The Italian international had started just one league game this season before the trip to North London, the win over Brighton back in August, and endured a shaky first start in Europe not long after.

With Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd both unavailable, Ogbonna partnered Dinos Mavropanos at the back. There were obviously worse games to give him the reins, with West Ham always expected to defend deeper and see less of the ball against their title-contender opponents, but then you have the challenge of Arsenal's smart movement.

In the first half, Ogbonna put in his best performance in some time, and he was forced to dig deep in the second. There was a nervy moment late on as Saka went over the centre-back's challenge, but no penalty was given.

4. Stars against their former sides

Ogbonna's defensive partner came to the Emirates Stadium with a point to prove. One of Arsene Wenger's final signings, the Greek international never got a consistent run of games under Mikel Arteta but moved to East London after impressing in Germany.

Declan Rice and Dinos Mavropanos were