Former referee confirms that technology provides evidence to determine whether the ball was out of play during the controversial West Ham goal against Arsenal

West Ham win over Arsenal was somewhat diminished by the controversy surrounding the opening goal, and technology has now shown whether the ball went out of play in the build-up
A view of the technology reviewing whether the ball went out
Technology has finally showed whether the ball went out of the play in the build-up to Tomas Soucek’s goal vs Arsenal
Technology showing whether the ball went out in the build-up to West Ham’s opener against Arsenal has finally been provided – and it’s bad news for Gunners fans.

David Moyes’ side dealt a Hammer blow to Arsenal’s title hopes with a stunning 2-0 win at the Emirates on Thursday, but it all started with a bit of controversy. Tomas Soucek scored the opening goal after tapping home Jarrod Bowen’s cut-back, but replays showed that most of the ball was out of play when Bowen reached it.

As the England star was in the way of the goal-line camera, a VAR review couldn’t conclusively rule whether or not the entire ball had gone out of play, so the referee’s on-field decision, to award the goal, stood.

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Arsenal fans were furious with the decision, particularly after an eerily similar incident cost them in their defeat to Newcastle last month. But computer analysis, provided by beIN SPORTS, proved that they had nothing to complain about.

A sliver of the ball, no thicker than the width of a finger was hanging over the line as Bowen knocked it back into play, according to the tech, which combined a series of camera angles to accurately predict where the ball was. “These days we do work to the Enth degree,” noted Richard Keys, “and that [points to the screen] was in.”

A view of the technology reviewing whether the ball went out
The technology showed a tiny part of the ball was still in when Bowen reached it
“I still don’t buy it,” Andy Gray laughed. “When we see how little of the ball is actually over the line, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jarrod Bowen thought it was out.”

The contentious goal almost didn’t matter in the end as West Ham scored a second just after the break to put the game beyond Mikel Arteta’s men, with former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos of all people getting the goal.

Jarrod Bowen reaching the ball moments before Tomas Soucek’s goal vs Arsenal
Many fans thought the ball was out when Bowen reached it, but technology has proven otherwise
It ought to have been 3-0 after ex-Hammers skipper Declan Rice conceded a penalty with just a few minutes left on the clock, but David Raya saved Said Benrahma’s effort. The win saw Arsenal drop two points behind league-leaders Liverpool, while West Ham moved up to sixth in the table, and just four points off a Champions League spot.