Arsenal secured a third-straight Premier League win after a slender 1-0 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Gunners had a good start against the Hammers on the road, but struggled to maintain the momentum after Ben White’s injury.
The second half was quite evenly matched, but Leandro Trossard eventually broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute of the contest.
The Hammers did score in the dying minutes of stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for a clear-cut foul on David Raya.
Raya was exceptional between the sticks with three saves. He pulled off a diving save to deny Taty Castellanos prior to the break.
However, his most important moment came in the second half. Mateus Fernandes looked destined to score, but Raya denied him with a stellar block.
Speaking after the game, Arteta acknowledged that it was a magical moment and Raya was incredible.
He told Arsenal.com: “When you talk about magic moments, this is certainly one of the most needed moments as well to pull off with that save. He was incredible.”
The 30-year-old had 39 touches in the London derby. His distribution was not fluent, with an accuracy of only 43 percent. There was more focus on long balls in the second half.
Raya also made three clearances and five recoveries to pick up his 18th clean sheet of the season. He has now won the Golden Glove award for the third-straight league campaign.
With the slender win, Arsenal have moved five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, but the Cityzens have a game in hand against Crystal Palace in midweek.
Arsenal now have an extended break with their next game at home against Burnley on May 18. They will end the league season at London rivals Crystal Palace on May 24.
Mikel Arteta’s side have a straightforward challenge to win their remaining two games to lift the title, but as we saw yesterday, the Gunners will have to earn those victories.
Stats from Sofascore