West Ham 0–2 Arsenal: Konstantinos Mavropanos’ header and Tomas Soucek’s contentious opening deny the Gunners first place.
Report and free highlights as Arsenal lost 2-0 to West Ham, missing the opportunity to take the lead in the Premier League; Tomas Soucek’s first goal was controversial as VAR was unable to establish whether the ball went out in build-up; Dinos Mavropanos scored the second goal for the Hammers.
Tomas Soucek’s dubious goal in the first half and Dinos Mavropanos’ header on his return to his former club gave West Ham a 2-0 London derby victory, denying Arsenal the chance to take the lead once again in the Premier League.
The Gunners got the better of the first half, with several chances, but on the thirteenth minute, Soucek of West Ham scored from close range after Jarrod Bowen’s cross from the byline. However, VAR carefully examined whether the ball had left play following the assist.
After a three-and-a-half-minute VAR check, the goal was awarded even though it was impossible to tell from the angle whether it was in or out.
Following the interval, James Ward-Prowse’s corner was headed in by returning defender Mavropanos, who made just eight appearances for the Gunners between 2018 and 2020. This goal gave the visitors a second.
Declan Rice gave up an unnecessary penalty against his former team for a foul on Emerson, adding to Arsenal’s frustration as Said Benrahma’s penalty in the final moments of play was equaled by David Raya.
Bukayo Saka had struck the post and Gabriel Jesus had squandered two excellent opportunities to pull the Gunners back into the game.
