Arsenal get ‘a bit of luck’ after ‘one of the worst decisions’ Arteta has ever made – Redknapp | OneFootball

Jamie Redknapp called a Mikel Arteta decision “one of the worst you could ever see a manager make” as his Arsenal side needed “a bit of luck” to turn over West Ham and take a step towards the title.

Arsenal put themselves back five points clear at the top of the Premier League with victory over West Ham. After Manchester City beat Brentford 3-0, the onus was back on the Gunners.

They crept over the line against the Hammers in dramatic fashion. David Raya made a huge save to deny Mateus Fernandes late on, staying big in a one-v-one to make the save, not long before Martin Odegaard danced into the box and squared to Leandro Trossard, who fired through bodies into the West Ham net.

Arsenal survived an equaliser, which was chalked off by VAR for a foul on goalkeeper David Raya, being impeded from getting up to claim a cross due to the arm of striker Pablo.

After the match, Sky Sports pundit Redknapp suggested Arteta would have been called out for a poor tactical change had the game not been won by the Gunners.

He said: “If Arsenal hadn’t won today and they didn’t win the league, I think a lot of people would have looked at that moment when he [Arteta] put Declan Rice at right-back for 25 minutes and said ‘that’s one of the worst decisions you could ever see a manager make,’ at such an important time.

“He has to sub-sub [Martin] Zubimendi, you end up playing Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back, all the changes you had to make for, really, what was a really simple one. [Cristhian] Mosquera for Ben White, right-back, keep Declan Rice in the middle of the pitch.

“But you need a bit of luck, he’s got away with it, no-one’s really gonna talk about it now. There’s a moment, all the staff were around him, it was like ‘ok, what do we do?’ To get to that point, it made no sense whatsoever.

“He had the presence of mind to rectify it, to go half-time, we’ve got to change this. Full credit for bringing Odegaard on, he had the big moment.”

Arsenal now face Burnley before a trip to Crystal Palace on the final day of the season, with victories in both of those games confirming the title.