Trailing to what proved to be Leandro Trossard’s 83rd-minute match-winner, West Ham United looked to have rescued a precious point, when Callum Wilson netted deep into additional-time.
But following an excruciating East End wait that endured for five fraught minutes, the strike was disallowed after referee Chris Kavanagh visited his pitch-side monitor and ruled fellow substitute Pablo had fouled Gunners’ goalkeeper David Raya in a goalmouth scrimmage more suited to the Superbowl than Stratford.
Widely adjudged the biggest Video Assistant Referee review moment in Premier League history, the decision left ascendant Arsenal on the brink of the title and wobbling West Ham teetering on the relegation precipice.
“Today’s been frustrating,” grimaced Nuno Espírito Santo after the calamitous call condemned his 18th-placed strugglers to a one-goal defeat with just two matches remaining.
“Our dressing room’s sad and upset because we created problems for Arsenal with our intensity and pressing. We wanted to keep the fight going and our football was positive but – unfortunately - we didn’t achieve the result we needed.”
Nuno Espírito Santo cut a frustrated figure following West Ham's Arsenal defeat (Image: Steve Blowers)
After reaching the UEFA Champions League final with a midweek victory over Atletico Madrid, unchanged Arsenal soon went close with Trossard’s double-header before William Saliba was then denied in a goalmouth scramble.
Yielding possession but digging deep, West Ham barely threatened until Raya brilliantly tipped aside Taty’s diving-header as the interval approached.
The second period mirrored the first but on 78 minutes the Spanish stopper defiantly denied Mateus Fernandes from point-blank range to the dismay of the sell-out crowd.
With an anxious Arteta making a string of substitutions, Martin Ødegaard played a one-two with former Hammer Declan Rice before inviting Trossard to break the deadlock with a deflected 15-yarder that would, ultimately, give his side a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City.
Then came that frantic finale in which Jarrod Bowen whipped a right-wing corner into a congested Gunners goalmouth, where Kai Havertz grappled Tomáš Soucek to the turf, while Rice bear-hugged Konstantinos Mavropanos into the net and Trossard bundled Pablo towards Raya.
While all around were losing their heads, Wilson coolly lashed the loose ball into the net ahead of that agonising five-minute wait for referee Kavanagh to study endless pitch-side replays before declaring that Pablo had been the villain of the piece for impeding Raya with an outstretched arm.
“It’s happening at every corner in the Premier League,” contended Nuno. “Everybody’s doing it - locking, grappling and holding. It’s like wrestling and I don’t understand what is and isn’t a foul anymore. Even referees confuse themselves.
“Players don’t understand it either. It’s up to referees to dictate the criteria and explain why sometimes it’s a foul and sometimes it isn’t.
"We want consistency and it’s for them to solve this issue. Officials have to take the responsibility to explain their reasons behind different decisions.”
Reprieved, Arsenal headed home firmly on course for the title, while dejected and deflated, the Claret & Blue army trudged away almost certainly facing the dreaded drop.
“The fans showed their support and gave us energy,” concluded Nuno, who now faces a tricky trip to Newcastle United on Sunday (kick-off 5.30 pm).
“We all have the responsibility of representing a big Club and we’re going to fight for them until the very last second.”