Jamie Carragher gives best breakdown yet of Arsenal and West Ham VAR controversy

Arsenal earned a 1-0 win against West Ham on Sunday afternoon, edging them closer to the Premier League title; however, it has not been without controversy, as fans and pundits have debated the decision by the referee to rule out a Hammers equaliser in stoppage time, and now Jamie Carragher has given his opinion.

West Ham believed they had scored an equaliser late on to help them in their battle against relegation, but it was ruled out after it was deemed that David Raya had been fouled in the build-up, with his arm being held, denying him from collecting the ball.

Referee Chris Kavanagh would be brought to the pitchside monitor to review his decision, and upon closer inspection, he ruled out the goal he had given for West Ham.

Since then, pundits and fans have let their feelings be known on the decision, with Peter Schmeichel slamming the decision to award a free kick in a post-match rant.

Meanwhile, Danny Murphy defended the decision to rule out the goal for a foul on Raya, explaining exactly why on Match of the Day.

Now, in the build-up to Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United in the Premier League on Sky Sports, Carragher gives his view on the decision.

He said: “Forget the clear and obvious bit. I just want to mention this, the clear and obvious bit, it took that long because there was so many things to look at. Jermain just highlighted three or four. Let's not forget, let's give them some credit here, the pressure on this decision, what it meant not just for these two football clubs, what it meant for Manchester City, what it meant for Tottenham. In a situation like that, I don't think anyone should be complaining with how long it took.

“Did they get to the right decision? Yes.

“There is two sets of people who thought that wasn't a foul. The people who've got an association with Manchester City or West Ham. Or the people who don't want Arsenal to win the league. The reason there has been so much uproar around it, there is a lot of people who don't want Arsenal to win the league. The reason why is, because what we saw yesterday, we see every week in the Premier League now. They were the instigators of it.

“This all started with Arsenal, two of three seasons ago, putting 15 players in a six-yard box. The reason people were upset with Arsenal and feel like they've got away with it is because this a football club, whether you like it or not, are a team push the boundaries in every area to gain an advantage. That's why they are disliked. The manager standing on the opposition touchline.

“Is there holding in the box, is there pulling jerseys? Yes, of course there is. Trossard in this situation, has he got his arms around a player?

“Pablo he's got hold off who ends up making the foul. I've been in that situation - is that enough for a penalty?

“For me, no. Declan Rice ends up with his arms around Mavrapanos, doesn't like great, but again - would I want to give a penalty for that? Or want a penalty given against me for that? I don't think they're going to get given.

“Manchester City fans might be claiming about this, Bernardo Silva did one at Everton last week and we weren't sitting on this show claiming it should have been a penalty.

"The reason this is a foul on the goalkeeper, and it is.

“Whether you like Arsenal or not, don't let that distort the facts. The fact is that this is a foul. Now, you could argue about the shirt tug, I'm not going to go too much on that. There is grappling. But the big difference is what comes now.

“We know Pablo is getting held by Trossard, it's that [the grip on Raya]. It's not even the arm, it's the grip. It's the holding. If that arm is in the air flailing, I'd say it's not a foul. You can't grab a goalkeeper on the arm and stop him raising his hand. That can't happen. People are crying today, I see social media everywhere. Arsenal get away with this week after week, I don't think they do.”

Carragher also dissected the incident involving William Saliba and Altay Bayındır earlier in the season, claiming it can't be compared. He also provided evidence from three years ago proving Arsenal were also penalised for the same offence.

Carragher added: " I look at these situations, I see why people get disgruntled because Arsenal push the boundaries. Saliba here, he's backing into the goalkeeper, he's making it difficult for him, yes. He's got his arm up. But when it carries on, he's not really stopping him, the goalkeeper has to do better on that one.

"We go to another one on Aston Villa, just pushing it as far as they can, backing into the goalkeeper, does he elbow him? Maybe catches him. Should the goalkeeper do better? Yes! It's not the same as what we saw at the weekend.

"What is the same is what happened three years ago at Leicester, we see Ben White. He's got the grip as we saw yesterday, with Pablo on Raya, that grip is there on the glove. He then hooks him and makes sure he can't lift the right arm up. Arsenal get the ball back, Trossard puts it in the goal. Goal, disallowed. This idea I've seen all day, they're getting away with it, they're not. They push the boundaries as far as they can. They're the best at set-pieces.

"But when they did what we saw yesterday, they got pulled up for it."

West Ham will feel hard done by, with Nuno Espirito Santo calling for more consistency in decisions regarding what is a foul on the keeper from a set-piece.

The Hammers boss will now be watching on as Spurs host Leeds, knowing that a victory for Roberto De Zerbi’s side will make his task that much harder with only two games remaining in the season for Santo to keep West Ham’s Premier League status.

A point against Arsenal would have drawn level with Spurs on points; however, if Tottenham win against Leeds, they will now move four points clear of West Ham, meaning a minor miracle will be needed to save the Hammers.