Arsenal the champions in waiting but doing it the hard way

The closing stages of the match with West Ham were nothing short of chaotic. David Raya produced a vital save to deny Hammers midfielder Mateus Fernandes when he looked certain to score, before Trossard's intervention and the major VAR call that chalked off Callum Wilson's stoppage-time effort for a foul on Raya by Pablo. Arteta called the disallowed goal one of the "most chaotic circumstances", with both teams "playing for their lives".

But he heaped praise on referee Chris Kavanagh for his decision. "A call from the refs that I think is very brave, but very consistent with what they've been talking about all season. And today I have to praise them, at least for giving the option to a referee to decide.

"Away from the lights and the chaos, to give clarity to him to make the right call. And when you look at the action in that way, I think it is an obvious error. "So congratulations because they made a big call in very, very difficult circumstances.

" Arteta has regularly said that his 'finishers' - the substitutes who come on to finish the match - have a big part to play, and on Sunday he backed this up by highlighting captain Martin Odegaard's "incredible impact" in assisting Trossard's winner. "I said to the boys, we're really going to go for it. So get ready, because if the game is not panning out in the manner that we [want], we're going to have to change it," he added.