Soccer
Mikel Arteta lauds referees for 'courage' to make big decisions in Arsenal victory over West Ham
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Arsenal hung on to a 1-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday after a contentious match that included big saves from goalkeeper David Raya and a game-changing video review in stoppage time that overturned a West Ham goal.
It had a little bit of everything as both sides had plenty to play for, with the visiting Gunners looking to wrap up their first Premier League title in 22 years while the Hammers are desperate to stave off relegation.
For Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, the excitement of the day was well worth it in the end, even with the chaotic nature of the second half and razor thin margins.
"I think we started the game so well," Arteta told the BBC. "We created three big chances but didn't manage to score the goal, then Ben White's injury comes in and we have to adjust that. It doesn't really work out and half-time we have to change [Riccardo] Calafiori as well, another change, so it's not ideal. But I think we showed a lot of courage with the changes and the persons that bring. I think we got rewarded because Martin [Odegaard] made an incredible action to win us the game, apart from David's save in the 70th minute.
"In the end, this is the beauty of the Premier League. In all this chaos and with the keeper in your box, they managed to score. The referee and the VAR today had a lot of courage to stop and analyse the action and give the opportunity to the referee to make the call. I think nobody would disagree that it is a clear foul because David has the ball almost in his hands and they don't allow him to do that and they take advantage to score the goal."
"My instinct, because I watched it live, is that it was going to be a foul," Arteta said of the disallowed goal, which was a result of West Ham forward Pablo being judged to have impeded Raya's ability to catch the ball on a corner kick seconds before Callum Wilson fired it into the net.
"But I understand and today I realised for the referees to be in that position and make that call and change the course of one the two teams, what a responsibility. What a big call."
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