Credit: TalkSPORT/Imago

Cameron Smith

Mon 11 May 2026 13:30, UK

West Ham United fell to a heartbreaking defeat on Sunday, with Arsenal winning 1-0 at the London Stadium.

The Hammers would provide a stern test for the title-chasing Gunners, and arguably should have taken the lead in the second half, when Mateus Fernandes missed a big opportunity inside the box.

In the last 10 minutes, the match would descend into chaos, with Leandro Trossard scoring the winner in front of the travelling contingent.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side thought that they had levelled it up in the dying moments, with Callum Wilson firing home from a corner.

Though with the goal ruled out for a foul on David Raya, the incident has been the talk of the Premier League since, with Gabby Agbonlahor nailing it with his judgement.

Gabby Agbonlahor gives verdict after big West Ham decision

Since the incident at the London Stadium, the thoughts of many associated with the game have been thrown about, both in favour and against the decision.

Offering his thoughts on talkSPORT, former Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor got it spot on with his judgement.

“It’s a strange decision. The frustration from a lot of the public is that Arsenal have scored a lot of goals from exactly that,” he said.

“If you look at Arsenal’s goals from set-pieces, there was one in the first game of the season, one against Villa, numerous other ones where they have got in front of the keeper, arms in the keepers face – nothing different to yesterday.

“If that’s your decision, why is it not the same decision all season?”

Throughout the campaign, Mikel Arteta’s side have become known for their set-piece dominance, with there somewhat of a grey area in regards to what they can and cannot do from set pieces.

As a result, teams across the league have all been at it from their corners this term, which only adds to the frustration of now being the time that this is policed.

All fans want is consistency with decisions

As echoed by Nuno in his post-match words, all that people want is a level of consistency. West Ham didn’t get that with the VAR call against Arsenal.

This isn’t about a conspiracy, nor is it the league fiddling with results. The issue is that these decisions seemingly change week in and week out.

With Arsenal’s set-piece dominance in mind, the rhetoric was for other clubs to match them in the air. Instead, decisions are now being made against the very thing done all season – something that could well be catastrophic for the Irons.

Moving forward, consistency is required.

Whatever the opinion on Sunday’s incident, this could be avoided by an implemented law that is 100 per cent adhered to and followed each week.

Instead, West Ham could now be on the verge of relegation after a decision that could have been made differently on any other given day.