SOCCER: Arsenal's Arteta praises courage of referee after pivotal decision

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised the courage of referee Chris Kavanagh for disallowing a West Ham United equaliser as his side snatched a 1-0 victory to move closer to securing the Premier League title on Sunday.

Yet his crestfallen opposite number Nuno Espirito Santo called for an end to the confusion over incidents at corners as Callum Wilson's stoppage-time goal was ruled out for interference on keeper David Raya after a lengthy VAR check.

Arsenal were protecting the lead given to them by Leandro Trossard's first goal since December when West Ham won a corner.

As the ball was swung over into a jam-packed area, Raya pushed the ball away under pressure from West Ham substitute Pablo before Wilson drove a shot home to spark wild celebrations among the home fans and despair at the Arsenal end.

But after a near three-minute VAR check, Kavanagh was invited to look at the incident on the pitch-side monitor and after many replays he disallowed the goal -- arguably correctly as Raya did appear to be impeded by Pablo's arm.

There was huge relief at the final whistle as Arsenal restored their five-point lead over Manchester City with games against Burnley and Crystal Palace left.

"The referee and the VAR today had a lot of courage to stop and analyze the action and give the opportunity to the referee to make the call," Arteta said.

"I think nobody would disagree that it is a clear foul because David has the ball almost in his hands and they don't allow him to do that and they take advantage to score the goal.

"It was an obvious error, it is a free kick and the goal has to be disallowed. Today I have realized how difficult and how big the referee's job is."

'THE ONLY FOCUS IS BURNLEY'

Should City fail to beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Arsenal can win their first title for 22 years by beating relegated Burnley next weekend.

"The only thing that matters is now, the present. Today we've done it. There are two more to go. The only focus now is Burnley," Arteta said.

Defeat for West Ham was harsh and they remain 18th with two games left. They could find themselves four points from the safety zone if 17th-placed Tottenham Hotspur beat Leeds United at home on Monday.

Espirito Santo was relatively calm despite the huge consequences of the decision that cost his side a precious point, but said clarity is needed over such decisions.

"There is lots of blocking, grappling and holding and we don't understand what a foul is any more," the Portuguese said.

"It's upsetting, today is frustrating. Every corner in the Premier League, what's happening is like this. What's the frontier of what is a foul and what's not a foul?

"It's a lack of consistency, everyone is confused."

Despite West Ham's predicament, Espirito Santo said they will fight to the last game to stay up.

"It's going to be tough. It's not in our hands. We fight for it and we will keep on fighting," he said. "It is our responsibility -- we represent a huge club and it's our obligation to go for it in these last two games."

-Reporting by Martyn Herman;Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters