Ten-Man Arsenal Beat West Ham 2-0 Despite Abysmal Refereeing, Again

Arsenal have beaten West Ham United to become the league leaders for 24 hours, until Manchester United and Chelsea play their games this Sunday.

The first goal came from a Denilson shot, when the Brazilian calmly fired into the bottom corner.

From then on, people thought that it would be a one-sided affair.

However, Arsenal have once again fell victim to abysmal refereeing, and had their star defender Thomas Vermaelen sent off, mainly because of an inadequate referee.

Vermaelen was battling with Franco for the ball, the ball was high in the air, and it was clear that not only was there minimal contact between the Belgian and the Mexican, but that Vermaelen wasn't even looking at the attacker—his head was clearly raised high, looking for the ball.

The match official, who was 40 yards away from the play, gave a straight red card and a penalty, even though he was not in the correct position.

I stand by my words: English referees are not worthy of refereeing in the upcoming World Cup, seeing how Howard Webb, who is considered the best in England, makes killer mistakes.

Diamanti took the penalty, and just when Arsenal needed him most, Manuel Almunia made a magnificent save, proving that he is indeed one of the best keepers when it comes to penalties.

This is not the first time Almunia saved Arsenal in a penalty, in fact, the Spaniard has one of the best records when it comes to penalties in recent seasons.

Arsenal entered the second half with a one goal lead, thanks to the heroics of Almunia, and the game was a difficult one.

Wenger played Diaby instead of Bendtner to be able to get more control over the midfield, and Diaby was brilliant at it.

Another player who was absolutley brilliant today, was Emmanuel Eboue, who was the difference maker in many of the balls in today's match.

At the 80th minute, Arsenal got a correct penalty, when the ball hit Upson's hand, and Fabregas converted the ball in the back of the net.

Conclusion

Diaby was brilliant, making great runs, and was calm under pressure—maybe even a little too calm at times.

Song has emerged as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe, making perfect tackles to interrupt the opponent's attacks, and when Vermaelen was sent off, Song was a great centre back.

Denilson has added a whole new dimension to his footballing game, and is starting to win the fans over with his performances, and most of all, his great long shots, that have added a new dimension to the Arsenal team.

Eboue has become an Arsenal match winner, magnificent dribbling and great speed are just a small part of his contributions to this Arsenal side this season. Arsenal must keep him at all costs.

Arsenal must try and get Vermaelen playing in the upcoming games, and must appeal for this freak decision by the match official, for this decision might ruin Arsenal's season.

Arsenal are now the current league leaders with 67 points, however, Manchester United have a game to play, and Chelsea have two games in their hand, the season is still far from over.

Arsenal will go to face Birmingham and Tottenham away, and they need Vermaelen to play against both teams.

Unless the FA plan to screw Arsenal yet again, they need to get the Belgian back to help Arsenal win the EPL this season.