It was the most extraordinary finale to an occasion when the tension seemed to override everything. The spectacle was suffocated. There was almost too much at stake for both teams. And then there we were, the players from each team standing on the sideline behind the referee, Chris Kavanagh, as he pored over the replay monitor on the advice of the video assistant, Darren England, his heart hammering, like that of everybody else inside the stadium.

Arsenal led 1-0 through Leandro Trossard’s 83rd minute goal, which had come shortly after David Raya had produced a massive one-on-one save to deny the West Ham midfielder, Mateus Fernandes. Now West Ham had their lifeline. Or had they? It all came down to Kavanagh’s interpretation of the moment when West Ham sent their goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen, forward for an all-or-nothing 95th minute corner and, after a melee of bodies, the West Ham substitute, Callum Wilson, had lashed a shot over the line.

The problem for West Ham was that another substitute, Pablo, had gone up for the corner with an arm stretched out across Raya, who cried foul. Loudly. So did everyone connected to Arsenal, either here or watching from further afield. Kavanagh took an age over the decision and as he deliberated, it was no exaggeration to feel that the Premier League title was at stake. Perhaps, the final relegation place, too.

Manchester City had dialled up the pressure on Arsenal with their 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday. They watched, as well. Where would Kavanagh land? Eventually, he drew the outline of a TV in the air and announced, via, his microphone that Pablo had fouled Raya. He was immediately drowned out by West Ham’s furious fans, who are now starring into the abyss. They had needed something from their team to give them hope in the battle against Tottenham to stay up. Instead, they felt the lowest of blows.

Arsenal, by contrast, departed with the feeling that their name could be on the trophy. It was not pretty, the anxiety back with a vengeance. West Ham have been in good form since the middle of January and they set up with three central defenders and a desire to make things hard for Arsenal, which they did. Arsenal found a way. They rode their luck. They are now even closer.

The occasion had been framed by City’s win over Brentford and Pep Guardiola’s post-match reaction. “Come on you, Irons,” the City manager said, making the crossed wrists gesture to show that he was proper West Ham. At least for one day. There was also the prospect of what was to come for West Ham on Monday night – namely Spurs’ home game against Leeds.

Mikel Arteta stuck with the starting lineup that had seen off Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg last Tuesday and Arsenal settled comfortably. The atmosphere at this vast bowl was subdued at the outset as West Ham sat back out of possession. There was little for the home support to get behind as Nuno Espírito Santo prioritised positional discipline over pressing intensity.

It was not until the 23rd minute that the West Ham fans stirred, inspired by Crysencio Summerville stamping in to a win a 50-50 against Ben White. The challenge was fair but White came off worse, jarring his leg to be forced off. Arteta’s response was to move Declan Rice to right-back and introduce Martín Zubimendi in midfield.

Arsenal ought to have been in front by then. They dominated the opening quarter and there was panic in West Ham ranks when Arsenal whipped dead-balls into the penalty area.

From a Rice corner, Trossard – unmarked at the far post – drew an excellent save out of Hermansen before hitting the outside of the upright with another header on the rebound. From a Rice free-kick, Riccardo Calafiori flicked on and it needed a saving intervention from Konstantinos Mavropanos. On both occasions, West Ham just about scrambled clear.

Arsenal could also point to Calafiori storming onto a Trossard pass only for Mavropanos to make the block tackle while the left-back lashed a drive just over in the 13th minute.

West Ham looked like they wanted it after the Summerville-White flashpoint. They began to crash into tackles. Arsenal did not like it but the home crowd certainly did. It was better from West Ham leading up to the interval and they might have gone ahead on 45 minutes when Taty Castellanos threw himself into a diving header to meet Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross. Raya tipped behind; a fine save.

From the corner, Jean-Clair Todibo could not sort his feet out to address a breaking ball. Shortly before that, Summerville had turned away from Myles Lewis-Skelly and surged to the edge of the Arsenal area. The finish was poor.

Arteta moved Rice again at the start of the second-half, back into midfield, with Cristhian Mosquera coming on at right-back and Lewis-Skelly going to left-back; Calafiori was withdrawn. Arteta needed Rice’s influence in front of the back four.

Nuno’s tactical set-up was designed to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Arsenal. It was 5-4-1 out of possession and the question to Arsenal sounded simple but was anything but. Could Arteta’s players find a way through?

Arsenal relied on control. Their patterns in open play were formulaic but they kept on working them in the hope of finding the crucial pocket of space, eking out the big chance. It was a tough watch and yet it was nevertheless gripping.

Arsenal’s creative travails were reflected by those of Zubimendi. There were groans from the travelling support when he missed an easy pass up the right for Eberechi Eze in the 56th minute. But it was still a surprise when Arteta substituted him with a quarter of the game to go. On came Martin Ødegaard. Kai Havertz also replaced Eze.

It came to feel as though Arsenal’s best chance might be from a set piece. There was more nervousness in the West Ham defence when Rice dropped in a free-kick on 69 minutes and the substitute, Pablo, who was almost lying down, felt the ball come perilously close to his hand. No penalty, said the officials. Gabriel Magalhães swiped the loose ball at goal. Mavropanos made the block.

Fernandes will desperately want to have his chance again and it was Ødegaard who helped to make the difference, teeing up Trossard for a shot that deflected off Tomas Soucek on its way past Hermansen. The drama was not over. Wilson spun and shot when gloriously placed, only to see Gabriel block. It was the cue for the corner and a wait that seemed to go on for ever.