Arsenal close in on the title as Leandro Trossard and VAR sink West Ham - 6 talking points

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Leandro Trossard's late goal and an even later VAR decision moved Arsenal one step closer to their first Premier League title in 22 years at West Ham. The Gunners were far from their best, with the importance of the match weighing heavily, but they got the job done to move five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.

Trossard went close with back-to-back headers from a corner early on, while Riccardo Calafiori threatened twice in a dominant opening spell from the away side. Konstantinos Mavropanos then made a crucial block to keep out Calafiori's flicked header from Declan Rice's free-kick.

West Ham forced David Raya into a good save before half-time through Taty Castellanos' diving header. After an injury to Ben White , Mikel Arteta was forced into continual tactical tweaks - including the substitution of substitute Martin Zubimendi - but the Hammers remained resolute.

Mateus Fernandes should have made it 1-0 to the home side, but Raya came up big to save one-on-one against the midfielder. And the importance of that save was highlighted when Trossard's deflected effort - his first goal in 25 games - put Arsenal ahead up the other end.

Callum Wilson appeared to have equalised from a corner in stoppage time, but VAR intervened to rule it out for a foul by Pablo on Raya, sparking fury inside the London Stadium. But Arsenal hung on and, with games against Burnley and Crystal Palace to come, are huge favourites to win the title. Here are the talking points.

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The opening stages of the match were focused on Arsenal's left wing, with Trossard and Calafiori combining constantly to threaten West Ham . Their relationship was summed up nicely when Trossard played a beautiful outside-of-the-boot ball in behind Jean-Clair Todibo, only for the left-back to be closed down by Mavropanos.

Calafiori's movement, regularly drifting inside to create an overload, caused the Hammers all sorts of problems. The Italian had three chances inside the opening 20 minutes, but couldn't find the back of the net.

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Arsenal were forced into making an unwanted tactical tweak midway through the first half when Ben White was injured in a tackle with Crysencio Summerville . Arteta brought on Zubimendi and left Gary Neville "stunned" when he moved Declan Rice to right-back.

Jurrien Timber is still unavailable for the Gunners and is approaching two months on the sidelines. The Dutchman was a hugely influential player for Arsenal and his absence was felt in east London, with Arteta clearly unwilling to bring on Cristian Mosquera, instead preferring to remove one of his key players from the middle of the pitch.

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The decision to move Rice to right-back after White got injured appeared a strange one from Arteta. The move coincided with an upturn for West Ham and left Arsenal lacking Rice's presence in the middle of the park, where Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly were left to man the fort.

To his credit, Arteta did identify and alter at half-time, bringing on Mosquera for Calafiori to shift Lewis-Skelly to left-back and place Rice back in midfield. Nevertheless, it didn't satisfy Neville on co-commentary for Sky Sports . "I can't help thinking it's a loss," he said early in the second half, referring to Calafiori's absence.

It got even stranger when substitute Zubimendi was substituted, with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz thrown on for the Spaniard and Eberechi Eze with a quarter of the game remaining.

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As the match wore on, it became a game of chicken, and of which team wanted to risk more and go for the win. Was a draw a good result for the title-chasing Gunners, or the relegation-threatened Hammers? Could Arsenal afford to let goal difference become a factor in the race with Manchester City ? And could West Ham rely on Leeds to do them a favour against Tottenham on Monday night?

The nerves appeared to be getting the better of Arsenal, who started giving away needless free-kicks while retreating towards their own goal. Thankfully, there were no nerves for Raya, who stood tall and kept Fernandes out at a crucial moment.

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Wilson's finish sent the home crowd wild and left Arteta with his head in his hands. But immediately after the ball crossed the line, Arsenal's players went to the referee to demand a decision.

Replays showed that Raya was impeded by Pablo's arm and - after a very very lengthy review - the decision was made. West Ham were furious, but it looked like the right decision reached under huge pressure.

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It wasn't vintage from Arsenal. But - as it hasn't all season - it doesn't matter. They are five points clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand but are reliant on Burnley or Palace, who are focused on the Conference League final, doing them a favour.

It was a sickener for West Ham, who remain a point behind Tottenham before they face Leeds on Monday night. Nuno Espirito Santo's side showed they are more than up for the battle, yet ultimately Fernandes' miss cost them a vital point. They have games against Newcastle and Leeds to come.

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