In a match that had more twists and turns than a London Underground map, Arsenal somehow emerged with a 1-0 victory over West Ham—a result that keeps their Premier League title dreams very much alive. Two more wins. That's all that separates the Gunners from glory.

The opening stages were anything but straightforward. After a scrappy first five minutes, Arsenal began to find their rhythm, with the ball zipping around the pitch and chances aplenty. Riccardo Calafiori was a constant menace in open play, while West Ham looked utterly lost defending corners. The Gunners had at least three goalmouth scrambles that left everyone wondering, "How did they not score there?"

But football, as always, had other plans. The match turned on a cruel moment when Ben White—fresh off his best performance for the club in over two seasons—went down with what looks to be a serious injury. Mikel Arteta's response was to shift Declan Rice to right-back, a decision that immediately changed the balance of the game. Without Rice pulling the strings in midfield, West Ham suddenly found their footing, winning second balls and upping the physicality. The match became a muddled affair, and many found themselves hoping for the halftime whistle just to regroup.

Arteta's press conference later confirmed the worst: "It doesn't look good" for White, and there was also an issue for Calafiori (shocker, indeed). At halftime, the manager made swift changes—bringing on Cristhian Mosquera at right-back, moving Myles Lewis-Skelly to left-back, and restoring Rice to his natural midfield role. Things improved, but the attack was left toothless. Without White's overlapping runs, Bukayo Saka struggled to get involved, and Martin Zubimendi—whether exhausted, carrying a knock, or something else—put in another stinker down the stretch.

And yet, somehow, Arsenal held on. VAR came to the rescue (yes, we're saying nice things about VAR today), and the Gunners walked away with three precious points. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't comfortable. But as they say in football, the mark of champions is winning when you're not at your best. With two games to go, the title is within reach.