The decision to hand Arsenal fullback Myles Lewis-Skelly a red card during West Ham’s 1-0 win at the weekend was the correct one, according to former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Gallagher said that the video assistant referee was right to call match official Craig Pawson over to the monitor.

“This is a really, really good VAR intervention. I understand why the referee thinks he’s in his own half.”

“The keeper has come so far out. The defender is a red herring, he’s so far away and he’s not going to catch him. Kudus just has to clip the ball over [David] Raya’s head and he’s got a goal-scoring opportunity.”

Pawson originally gave Lewis-Skelly a yellow card for the foul but it was upgraded to a red on review, with the defender deemed to be denying a goal.

The right decision was made eventually

As Gallagher mentions, Mohammed Kudus would have had an excellent opportunity to make it 2-0 but he was pulled back by Lewis-Skelly before he could get his shot away.

Even playing against ten men, Graham Potter’s side had to work hard to make sure they grabbed all three points but it was a fully deserved victory.

It was a big win for West Ham

There were a lot of doubts about this team’s capabilities heading into the game. After losing 1-0 at home in their previous fixture against Brentford, not many were hopeful of getting something from the match at the Emirates.

As it was, Potter got his tactics spot on and, combined with the team putting in a great shift to ensure they kept a clean sheet, the Irons secured a morale-boosting result, moving themselves 13 points clear of the bottom three in the process.

Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here