David Raya was instantly certain that West Ham's equalising goal against Arsenal would not stand, according to match-winner Leandro Trossard. The Hammers thought they had snatched a crucial late leveller at the Emirates Stadium, only for the effort to be disallowed after a VAR review.
VAR Intervention Decides the Outcome
Deep into injury time, West Ham believed they had secured a vital point against the Premier League leaders. However, footage revealed a foul by West Ham's Pablo on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya as the ball entered the penalty area. The Arsenal stopper was consequently unable to gather the ball, which broke to Callum Wilson to bundle over the line.
The infringement initially went unpenalised with the goal standing on the pitch. Referee Chris Kavanagh was directed to the pitchside monitor to review the incident before overturning the decision, much to the relief of the home side.
Trossard Reveals Raya's Immediate Reaction
Speaking after the match, Leandro Trossard disclosed what David Raya had told him in the wake of the West Ham goal. "Raya said straight away 'it can't be a goal'," Trossard told Sky Sports. "At that moment, I had a lot of faith. I believed because he was pretty convincing, but you never know."
He added: "You are thinking it is not going our way, but luckily it was a foul and we won the game. It was relief as there wasn't long to go, but we still had to dig in for a couple of minutes. We are just really happy with this win."
Hard-Fought Victory for Arsenal
Reflecting on the match as a whole, the Belgian international commented: "That was one of the toughest games in general. When we scored there was a lot of joy, but then we had to dig in at the end and not concede."
The victory, secured by Trossard's strike a few minutes before the West Ham disallowed goal, propels Arsenal five points clear of second-placed Manchester City in the Premier League standings. City do, however, possess a game in hand, which takes place on Wednesday evening when they face Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium.
