Raya saves it, Trossard wins it, and more as Arsenal take one more step towards glory.
[freaking out during VAR check in front of both sets of parents]
Sunday was Mother’s Day here in the States. My in-laws were in town for the weekend, so my wife and I invited my parents up for brunch at our apartment to celebrate the occasion. That then evolved into my entire immediate family coming over to my residence. I went and got pastries from my favorite coffeeshop in town, my wife baked some quiches, and I made cookie butter dalgonas for anyone who asked. And of course, we gave our respective mothers flowers and a card.
But on the TV in the background, I had put on the Arsenal game and hidden the remote. And when I wasn’t cutting up cruffins, making various coffee drinks, or seeing how long I could carry my baby nephew around without him bursting into tears (he doesn’t seem to like my beard very much), I was standing in front of my television with arms crossed and my brow furrowed. It was a big day, not just for mothers but for the Gunners as well; with Manchester City having dismantled Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Arsenal’s trip to West Ham United felt like a must-win.
Sunday felt like a potential momentum shifter in this season’s title race. If Mikel Arteta’s men faltered in east London that day, I’m almost certain it would give Pep Guardiola and his players the push they needed to overcome a busy schedule over the next couple of weeks and surge into pole position right at the end of the season. It’s why I woke up with a Mariana Trench-sized pit in my stomach that morning, as did so many other Arsenal supporters. It’s why Guardiola ended his post-Brentford presser by goofily crossing his arms and yelling, “Come on, you Irons!” It’s why West Ham fans, who are currently desperate to see their team avoid relegation but almost as desperate to hate Arsenal for taking Declan Rice from them, were especially energized in the stands of London Stadium. Everyone knew — failure to come away with maximum points would probably have been monumentally dire for the Gunners.
So I spent the first half nervously prowling my home. At times, I intentionally tried to keep myself busy by making myself yet another plate of chicken sausages and basbousa. Or I offered to make a family member with a normal caffeine tolerance another shaken espresso, which they always understandably declined. Anything to avoid Mads Hermansen once again have the game of his life against Arsenal, or to keep from panicking a little more every time the Gunners missed a chance.
But when the second half started with both teams goalless I found myself seated on my couch, abandoning my hosting duties and fully engrossed in the next 45 season-defining minutes. I couldn’t play it cool anymore. I needed to commit my attention to the match. Almost perversely, I refused to miss any of the action despite my escalating anxiety. I figured I could get away with it — after all, my brothers and my father were watching just as intently as I was.
As the second period kicked off, I turned to my them and jokingly said, “This is going to be a 1-0 game with an 82nd-minute goal.”
Turns out, I was off my by a few seconds. And when that Leandro Trossard shot skipped into the back of West Ham’s net, an explosion of joy escaped me that startled both my in-laws and my nephew. I sprinted around my apartment pumping my arms Arsène Wenger-style in sheer delight while assuredly looking like a damn fool in front of my guests. But in that moment, I didn’t care — five days of tension was leaving body.
And then… I watched in horror as Callum Wilson’s shot rocketed over the line and inside of Arsenal’s net. I knew even before Chris Kavanagh confirmed it that West Ham had scored. My heart sunk as terror flooded back into my veins. With two games to go, the Gunners had let City back in again.
I turned to my younger brother and swore at him for saying, “Congrats on the win” before stoppage time had even commenced. But before I could really have a go at him for jinxing the result, my father suddenly exclaimed, “It’s a foul!” Sure enough, the numerous replays of the set piece that preceded Wilson’s strike showed David Raya taking Pablo’s arm to his neck and face as he attempted to claim a corner. And I had to agree — objectively, the Arsenal keeper had been fouled in the buildup to West Ham’s equalizer.
But I also knew that refereeing in the Premier League is not handled objectively. It is inconsistent and at times downright laughable. The PGMOL are an organization that have entrenched themselves in a position of power to the point where they do not take dedication to correctness, or even the mere avoidance of conflicts of interest, nearly as seriously as they should.
So when Kavanagh went to the monitor as directed to by VAR, my expectations were minimal. This was the guy who sent Rice off for kicking a ball away last season. I was positive that he would watch a couple angles and then give the decision he was always going to give. I would have bet money that he had made up his money ten minutes before the incident had even occurred. Kavanagh was (metaphorically) the leader of a neo-Nazi gang and Arsenal were Hank Schrader, lying wounded in the dust.
But the referee stayed at the monitor for a small eternity, really going over the incident in detail. And then, he did the unthinkable: he chalked off West Ham’s goal. Bewildered and relieved, I sank tiredly to my haunches. I lowered my head and closed my eyes for a moment as the stress of it all had me feel like vomiting. The PGMOL had made an immensely brave — and correct — call. And it was to benefit Arsenal, no less.
From there, Arsenal grasped their second chance at a win with both hands and held on to seal the three points. When the full time whistle went and I was sure Arteta’s men would return home victorious, I hugged everyone. In a way, I was extremely happy that I got to share this moment with all of them, even if I had been a hysterical wreck the whole time. Because I know that if Arsenal do go on to win the Premier League, Sunday is a moment I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.
The world was waiting to see the Gunners prove the haters right once again. To be fair, they almost did. The sour grapes from journalists, ex-players, and common Twitter trolls alike illustrates just how much they had desired another opportunity for Manchester City to pounce, for the house to win another round of cards in the English top flight. But they didn’t get it, and their tantrums will play out online and in the media over this next week and the weeks to come.
But no matter. Only two games left. Burnley at the Emirates and Crystal Palace away. Bring it home, Arsenal.
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Ballers
David Raya
Without Raya, we are not talking about a win at West Ham. Hell, we’re probably talking about far fewer wins this season than Arsenal’s current tally of 42. The Spaniard has been utterly immaculate all season long, and that continued at London Stadium on Sunday.
In the 78th minute, shortly before the Gunners notched their winner, Mateus Fernandes was played in one-on-one against Raya. Personally, my life flashed before my eyes. The West Ham man had a point-blank shooting opportunity with a favorable angle. However, the Arsenal keeper made himself big and miraculously kept out Fernandes’ effort, keeping his side in the game when the season was on the line. I think we’re going to look back on that as a significant moment when all is said and done.
In total, Raya made three saves. He also prevented quite a decent attempt from Valentín Castellanos in the 45th minute as well as a long distance attempt from Jarrod Bowen in the 49th minute. The Spaniard was so good that West Ham played had to simultaneously stick an arm in front of his face, grab his wrist, and pull his shirt from behind to stop Raya from claiming a corner. The three-time Golden Glove winner is easily the best goalkeeper in the Premier League right now.
Martin Ødegaard
We (myself included) have chastised Ødegaard plenty of times over the course of the season. Whether it has been his inability to stay fit or his over-conservatism on the ball, the Norwegian has frustrated many at one point or another during this campaign. However, Ødegaard did what all captains should do on Sunday: he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and made a crucial impact.
The skipper entered the match as a substitute in the 67th minute, replacing Eberechi Eze. From there, he got to work finding ways to get his teammates into dangerous situations. In particular he exploited the space between West Ham’s center back and left back, threading passes through that hole repeatedly for Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke. After letting the hosts get up a head of steam, Ødegaard re-established control of the game for Arsenal.
Of course, his most important contribution came in the form of his assist for Trossard’s strike in the 83rd minute. After some interplay with Rice at the top of West Ham’s box, Ødegaard dribbled into the opponent’s penalty area before perfectly laying the ball off for the Belgian. When his team needed someone to step up and be a hero, Ødegaard made himself counted. I think that moment could end up defining his legacy at the club.
Leandro Trossard
I don’t know much about the details because it’s not really my business and I don’t like to gossip about players’ private lives. But clearly, Trossard has been facing some difficulties in his personal matters off the pitch recently. And the Daily Mail cynically published a piece on it shortly before Arsenal’s trip to West Ham. The timing of it is quite hard to ignore.
However, it didn’t seem to affect Trossard’s performance as much as some may have hoped. Trossard was bright from the offing, combining superbly with Riccardo Calafiori on multiple occasions. Early in the match, he played the Italian into a big chance with Calafiori couldn’t convert (and looking back, he really should have cut back to Eze at the top of the box). Trossard also came close to continuing Arsenal’s streak of scoring in the ninth minute when his back post header from Rice’s corner was saved by Hermansen and his follow-up attempt struck the crossbar.
Ultimately, Trossard’s pressure on West Ham’s goal told. In the 83rd minute, Ødegaard laid the ball off to him near the center of the penalty area and the Belgian’s shot was deflected past the keeper to put Arsenal 1-0 up. It was his first goal of 2026 and the winner. After a few months that had us questioning how much he had left to give, Trossard has roared back to life at the business end of the season.
Mikel Arteta
In a way it’s funny that the Arsenal manager has made it onto this list, since for a while he came dangerously close to losing the match for his team. In response to Ben White exiting the match injured, Arteta ignored the straightforward option of bringing on Cristhian Mosquera and instead opted for Martín Zubimendi. This choice meant moving Rice to right back to accommodate the Spanish midfielder. It was a decision that handed the initiative to West Ham after a very positive start from Arsenal.
But I have to give him credit, because Arteta recognized that he had made the wrong call and adjusted at halftime. Calafiori was subbed off for Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly dropped back into the defensive line, allowing Rice to reenter the midfield three. From there, Arsenal looked a little more secure.
But the Gunners still didn’t look like winning the match. Which caused Arteta to do something I never thought I would see him do: he withdrew a player he had brought on as a substitute. With just about 40 minutes played, Zubimendi was replaced by Havertz while Ødegaard entered the fray as well. It was a change to effectively won Arsenal the match.
And I think a call like that takes a lot of guts. You never want to double back on a substitute, but it was the right call here and Arteta risked the awkwardness of it after the fact in order to give his team the best chance of winning. It shows me that the Spaniard is growing as a manager. Which, given how good he already is, only brings more encouragement.
Fallers
Martín Zubimendi
I want to take it a little easy on the Fallers today but I do feel the need to cover them. We’ll start with Zubimendi, who came on in place of White and ended up not really offering much. With White out and Rice at right back, Zubimendi needed to give Arsenal defensive solidity while also providing a little bit of impetus going forward. And the Spaniard didn’t really achieve that.
In particular, I remember one break in which Eze found himself charging down the right flank in acres of space. Zubimendi spotted the pass but inexplicably overhit it. And it was just so frustrating because it wasn’t a difficult ball to play and it probably would have led to at least an opportunity for Arsenal. In the end, Zubimendi is looking more and more like a late-game option to close out wins. But he’s currently not a player who can drag his team to wins.
Bukayo Saka
Saka has been great lately. After missing significant time, the Arsenal talisman has returned during a crucial stretch and produced some critical goal contributions. However, he looked a little flat on Sunday.
I do want to state for the record that the Englishman created three chances at West Ham, the most in the game. But I feel it’s fair to expect a little more of a player as special as he is. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really trouble his man as often as he probably should have. It happens. Hopefully, he can kick things up a notch moving forward.
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