Mikel Arteta Slams Critics After West Ham’s Disallowed Goal Against Arsenal
- Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hit out at the critics over West Ham’s disallowed goal on Sunday
- Arsenal beat West Ham to secure valuable three points after VAR disallowed West Ham’s late equaliser
- PGMOL boss Howard Webb justifies the decision and releases the recordings of the officials discussing it
Arsenal manager has slammed his critics after the Gunners benefited from a controversial VAR decision to beat West Ham 1-0 on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
Arsenal secured a massive three points in the title race after their win over West Ham, while pushing the Hammers to the edge of getting relegated.
Source: Getty Images
Leandro Trosaard put Arsenal in the lead in the 83rd minute after a hard-fought evening, before Callum Wilson responded for West Ham in the 95th minute.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially awarded the goal, but chalked it off after a VAR check, which lasted four minutes plus and took 17 replays on the pitch-side monitor.
Arsenal were delighted to walk away with the points, while the Hammers felt cheated as they continued their fight towards survival in the Premier League.
Head of Premier League referees Howard Webb justified Kavanagh’s decision on the eighth episode of Match Officials Mic'd Up.
Webb claimed that the match officials made the right decision, and the length of time taken was to do a diligent job out of respect for the game.
Arteta slams Arsenal’s critics
Arsenal faced criticism, particularly from rival fans on social media, who claimed that the Gunners have been guilty of the same offence, which went unpunished.
Arteta, during his pre-match conference ahead of facing Burnley on Monday, claimed that the reaction in his team towards the decision was extremely positive.
He added it was an important win for Arsenal after a long week and said that only people with no football knowledge will claim that the decision was wrong.
“The reaction from our side is extremely positive, because we were so happy with the outcome and the fact that we won the game, such an important game for us as well,” he said as quoted by Arsenal.com.
“We had a really, really intense week with the Champions League semi-final. In relation to the reaction, I haven’t seen any of that. I’m sorry.
“I've been very consistent on that since July to now, I think it’s very clear, I don’t think anybody who has football knowledge would question the decision and that they took the right one.”
Source: Getty Images
Arsenal could be confirmed as Premier League champions on Tuesday if they beat Burnley and Manchester City fail to beat Bournemouth.
Arteta was asked if the team would watch Bournemouth vs Manchester City together and who would host the squad at his place, but he declined and is rather focused on beating Burnley.
“I’m sorry, we’re not thinking about that type of thing; the only focus is Burnley and winning the game. That’s the thing that we can control,” he said.
Recording discloses referees’ conversation
Legit.ng previously reported that the Premier League released the recording of the conversation between Kavanagh and the VAR officials before disallowing West Ham’s goal.
The footage sparked further controversy as the referee was confused during the conversation as to what the VAR pointed to him to check during the chain of action.
Source: Legit.ng
