Premier League release statement on Arsenal controversy v West Ham United
West Ham earned a fantastic 1-0 win over Arsenal to put a dent in the Gunners’ Premier League title ambitions on Saturday.
Captain Jarrod Bowen was the hero for West Ham at the Emirates Stadium (22 February) with the only goal of the game shortly before half-time.
It marked just a second win of the Graham Potter era and it was a three points that just makes things a little more comfortable for the Hammers, who would have been casting nervous glances at the relegation zone.
Their cause was helped by the fact Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for Mikel Arteta’s men after 73 minutes.
Premier League explains Lewis-Skelly red card v West Ham
Initially Lewis-Skelly was shown a yellow card as he dragged down Mohammed Kudus near the centre circle, with West Ham already leading Arsenal 1-0 at the break.
However, referee Craig Pawson was sent to the pitch-side monitor by the VAR as there was no covering defender and David Raya was miles off his line.
After consulting the footage, Pawson upgraded the yellow to a card, to the disdain of the home fans and the delight of the travelling West Ham contingent at the Emirates.
The Premier League has now released its explanation for Pawson upgrading the teenager’s yellow to a red.
A post on the Premier League’s Match Centre X account read: “VAR checked the referee’s call of yellow card to Lewis-Skelly for a challenge on Kudus – deeming it denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity due to the goalkeeper’s position and there being no covering defender, therefore recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
West Ham need to look up now under Potter
There has been a general acceptance that the performance levels of West Ham under Potter have been decent but the results had yet to really match the displays.
So, it was a huge relief to get a big three points against the high-flying Gunners and the fact it puts a serious dent in Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League is just all the more sweeter in truth.
Potter’s side are still 16th in the table but the gap to the bottom three is now 13 points and, with 12 games to go, it would take a drastic turn of events to get truly dragged into the scrap for survival now.
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
Instead, the Hammers have to look up, keep picking up points, and finish the season as strongly as possible to give the gaffer a strong foundation to work on next season.
The Julen Lopetegui experiment is one that was doomed to fail, but now there are signs that brighter times can once again be on the horizon.
Three points against Arsenal was just a perfect way to give a flagging campaign a much-needed shot in the arm.