Arsenal move a step closer to the title. Talk about panic at the London Stadium. Will VAR be their star at the end of the season? Less than two weeks to go of the Premier League season. Less than a month until the World Cup begins. Blimey! Issue 97. Go.

Four minutes that are going to have a huge impact on the destination of this season’s Premier League crown. Four minutes when the footballing world stopped and waited with bated breath,

Had Callum Wilson just scored a dramatic equaliser for West Ham at home to Arsenal?

Had the former Newcastle forward just boosted West Ham’s survival hopes and also put a massive dent in Arsenal’s title hopes?

Turned out that after all that waiting, he had not.

West Ham’s celebrations cut short. The debate about whether David Raya was fouled in his bid to collect the ball from a Hammers’ corner going not only long into the night but also long into the 48 hours that have since followed.

Was it the right call to see Wilson’s goal scrubbed off? I think you have to say it was.

Remove all the Arsenal bias and the desire to see them fall short and it is hard to argue against it when Pablo has his arm draped over the Spanish international’s throat.

Most importantly, for the stick that VAR is beaten with from week to week, it made a big call and it made it correctly. If technology is to be in the game, you want it to work properly.

Everyone happy then?

Well maybe not.

Because if that is not a goal, what about all the pushing and shoving that Arsenal have done all season?

What about all the other goals that if you are using Sunday as the litmus test for whether a goal should be disallowed or not, have then stood in Arsenal’s favour.

There’s nothing wrong with controversy but it would help if there was consistency.

That is the sticking point for not just West Ham fans but Manchester City fans and just about anyone else who wants to see the Gunners misfire between now and the final day.

Anyone in the anti-Arsenal camp will point to both Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice performing grapples on West Ham players while all this was unfolding. In the case of the latter, there were strong grounds for a penalty.

But it is the goalkeeper that gets the extra protection and therefore that issue would supercede anything else going on in the box. A perhaps luckier escape when you look at it from this point of view.

West Ham say they are going to complain to the PGMOL but what will that do? They are not going to get a point added to their current tally.

Harold Webb the head of the PGMOL has since said that there will be discussions about excessive grappling in the summer but for all the talk, how do you stop it or even police it for that matter.

There can be anywhere between 16 to 20 bodies in the box at any one time, far too much activity to police in real time and even when looking back on a replay how do you define what impedes play and what doesn’t?

So many questions. no answers for now and Arsenal although coming out on top know that lady luck was shining in those final few seconds.

Of course, all that commotion in the dying seconds of the game will also detract from the incredible save that David Raya made moments before Arsenal finally took the lead through Leandro Trossard.

His save from Mateus Fernandes is arguably more important than what unfolded later on but is not even a talking point. It will likely be remembered more if Arsenal do win the title and their supporters look back at the season as a whole, right now its lost in the mix.

A save that was similar to that of Stefan Ortega’s at this stage two seasons ago. as he foiled Heung-min Son and in doing so, let Manchester City take a huge step to winning a fourth successive Premier League crown.

Now a save of the same ilk could see Arsenal win their first Premier League crown in 22 years. If it does help the Gunners get over the line, then Raya should probably be front and centre of any promotional material for the documentary that will surely follow.

Thomas Tuchel has named his preliminary 55-man squad for this summer’s World Cup and although it has not been publicly announced in full, it is probably harder to be left out than actually included.

That is of course if you are fit for selection and after suffering an injury at West Ham on Sunday, it has been announced that Ben White will be out for the rest of the season including events in North America.

His return to the England fold was far from universally welcomed back in March after his decision to leave the Qatar camp mid-tournament four years ago and with this injury, those who did not support him back in the fold will no doubt be pleased.

A tough break for the former Brighton defender but at the same time, maybe the slice of good luck that Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold needs if he is to make it on the plane next month.

In hindsight, that move to the Spanish capital has not been the biggest success - especially with Barcelona winning La Liga on Sunday and if reports are to be believed, the ex-Liverpool right back could be working under Jose Mourinho next season at the Bernabeu.

While if reports are to be believed regarding Tuchel’s 55-man panel, Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck have been placed on the long list and to be honest, I would not be against either being on the shortlist.

Decision time to shave 55 into 26 takes place next Friday and it is going to be incredibly interesting to see who represents the Three Lions in North America. 60 years of hurt finally coming to an end? Maybe.

More boos ringing out at Anfield on Saturday, not only at full time but during and with it never being a good look for a manager to be booed for making a substitution, Arne Slot had to deal with the wrath of the Anfield faithful when deciding to take off Rio Ngamoha of halfway through the second half.

The Reds had to make do with a share of the points against the Blues on Saturday lunchtime and after previously suffering six successive defeats, Calum McFarlane’s men will be happy that some form of small step has been made in the lead up to their FA Cup final preparations. Chelsea currently ninth, a Wembley win arguably their shortest route back to Europe.

A route that is longer in the Premier League due to Brighton sitting above them in the table and after their 3-0 win over Wolves, Fabian Hurzeler’s men are keeping the pressure up on Bournemouth behind them in the race for what could also be a Champions League berth next season.

Wolves, what else is their left to say about Rob Edwards men? Even their hopes of finishing off the bottom have been shrunk due to Burnley’s well-earned point a day later. A performance that was nothing short of going through the motions, a performance that adds to the list that just have not been good enough since the start of August.

Back-to-back draws for Sunderland but this also means just two points from the last 12 on offer for the Black Cats. A run that has probably killed off any hopes of squeezing into Europe after their return to the Premier League. Their only true target is now making sure they finish above Newcastle.

As for Manchester United, no real surprise that they dropped down a gear after Champions League qualification was assured. One of the more drab performances since Michael Carrick took charge at Old Trafford. Does it make too much of a difference considering draws elsewhere? Don’t ask the bloke who won’t be getting a haircut this summer.

Fulham living up to type as the most mid-table team in the Premier League. Sitting 11th after a second successive league defeat and if Jose Mourinho does leave Benfica to return to Real Madrid, there are strong rumours that Marco Silva will be the man to replace him. On the evidence of Fulham’s last two outings, this might be the right time to go.

As for Bournemouth, is there any chance that they can talk AndonI Iraola into staying? This team seems to have got even better since the Spaniard decided that he is leaving the Vitality Stadium at the end of the season. They are now 16 games unbeaten, their next league outing is against Manchester City next week. Could they have the ultimate say in the title race?

Not if Jeremy Doku has anything to do about it. The Belgian has certainly stepped up to the plate as of late and after scoring a brace at Hill Dickenson at the start of the week, he then managed to open the scoring at home to Brentford on Saturday. A near carbon copy of the two goals he scored on Monday. When something works, it works.

It didn’t work for Brentford on Saturday and with that 3-0 defeat at the Etihad, their hopes of sneaking into the Champions League next season have now diminished considerably. The fact that I am even typing that is remarkable and if the Bees can pick up some form of European football, it will be richly deserved.

After their 4-0 reverse to Aston Villa on Thursday, Nottingham Forest can now at least celebrate their Premier League survival on Sunday thanks to their draw with Newcastle and West Ham’s subsequent defeat just a couple of hours later. The fact that Elliott Anderson scored against his former club would have not been lost on Newcastle’s travelling support.

The Magpies failed to build on their 3-1 win over Brighton the previous week and although a draw on the road should not be overlooked, it just doesn’t feel enough in a second half of the season which has failed to get going. Another thing that should not be overlooked is Anthony Gordon being rested again. Off to Bayern?

Who’s bad? Not Michael Jackson’s Burnley or at least not last weekend anyway. A spirited performance at home to Aston Villa which was good enough to earn them a point at Turf Moor. Considering the Clarets have the worst home record in the Premier League this season (albeit now only behind Tottenham on goal difference), this point offered some rare home cheer for such ailing support.

As for Aston Villa, you can forgive them for suffering some sort of Europa League final qualification hangover but it was interesting to see that manager Unai Emery decided to go strong. Does this feel like two points dropped considering they have Liverpool and Manchester City to close out the season. They may need to beat Freiburg to get into the Champions League.

Crystal Palace also suffered their own form of European hangover on Sunday although there is no doubt that Oliver Glasner’s men have been on the beach these past few weeks and now just want to focus on Leipzig. The point at home to Everton was nothing more than keeping the muscles warm before the trip to the former East German outpost.

As for Everton they would love to travel to the former East German outpost next season and that point does keep their hopes of European competition ticking over for another week. Which is not good news for any team that still needs to face them in the last two weeks of the season (see below)

West Ham would have been smarting in the moment but they have found some hope after what happened the following night.

Arsenal. After witnessing how they won on Sunday, all I would say that it is not over yet.

Mathys Tel goes from hero to villain in the space of 25 minutes or so. Fantastic goal to open the scoring for Spurs on Monday night. Brainless decision to try and hook out a cross with a high boot. Nothing short of two points dropped at home to Leeds - even if it is a point gained over West Ham. The nerves have crept in again at N17.

While they have Antonin Kinsky to thank for a point after his sensational save in injury time. If the Czech goalkeeper’s confidence was shatterd recently at Atletico Madrid, it has been repaired after foiling Leeds on Monday. The Elland Road outfit welcome West Ham on the final day and have nothing to play for now. The script writes itself.

Millwall’s bid to make the Premier League for the first time was foiled after Hull’s 2-0 win on Monday night. It means Alex Neil’s men will not be going to Wembley as the Tigers wait and see who they will face out of Middlesbrough and Southampton.

Which leads us to another round of EFL ‘spy gate’ a Southampton party caught in the act before their first leg meeting at the Riverside Stadium. Punishment could lead to the Saints being kicked out of this season’s playoffs (they are losing at the time of writing) or even given a points deduction going into the 2026/27 campaign. Watch this space.

Rochdale could not have earned promotion to League Two any other way. 2-0 down to Boreham Wood in the National League playoffs and looking down and out. 2-1 down with seven minutes of injury time approaching. Yep, an equaliser in the 97th minute.

More carnage as far as their season is concerned and after holding their nerve during the eventual penalty shootout, Rochdale supporters can now lie down for the next two months.

Hearts held at Motherwell. Celtic win at home to Rangers. The gap at the top cut to a single point. Both the top two play the penultimate league games tomorrow on Wednesday night. The top two then meet on the final day.

This is undoubtedly the biggest weekend in Scottish football in quite some time. Maybe even the past 40 years if Hearts do manage to get over the line.

After Roy Hodgson’s caretaker stint as Bristol City manager has come to an end, the Championship outfit have reportedly met the release clause of League One champions Lincoln boss Michael Skubala.

No doubt the Ashton Gate outfit is a bigger club but will Skubala want to leave the Imps behind after such an incredible season in the third tier?

Right, that’s the end of issue 97 as word continues to spread around the football world.

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Issue 98 drops Friday, I’ll be back with another round of insight, analysis and trends that matter. Any feedback or comments on this issue, contact me below:

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