Anthony Taylor made a poor referee error that could have cost Arsenal in 5-2 win over West Ham

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Arsenal have certainly been on the wrong end of some questionable refereeing decisions this season, a side with three red cards in the Premier League.

Fortunately, since the November international break, the noises around Arsenal have been about their excellent form, rather than their frustrations with the PGMOL.

Mikel Arteta’s side were brilliant against West Ham – Arsenal excelled on the front foot in the first 45 minutes and then killed the game after the break.

In their last two trips to the London Stadium, Arsenal have scored 11 goals, a happy hunting ground for Arteta’s men.

That being said, and despite being 4-0 up in the first half, it did then seem as if West Ham had found a way back into the game.

Declan Rice penalised for controversial ‘foul’ on Lucas Paqueta

Aaron Wan-Bissaka snuck in behind Arsenal’s defence to score West Ham’s first reply – a goal you don’t typically see the Gunners concede.

Then, Emerson Palmieri curled a brilliant free-kick past David Raya to bring the game to 4-2 in only a matter of minutes.

READ MORE: Arsenal fans have a lot to say about Jorginho after West Ham thrashing, they’re spot on

Although, Arsenal fans were far from happy with the free-kick awarded to West Ham which Emerson put away.

Declan Rice was penalised for a ‘foul’ on Lucas Paqueta just outside the box, a sliding challenge that referee Anthony Taylor was only yards away from.

Taylor’s positioning and view was excellent, and yet he still failed to see that Rice won the ball cleanly – it was never a foul.

Perhaps it seems over the top to blast Taylor for awarding a free-kick incorrectly, but it’s a baffling decision given where he was stood.

Fortunately, from their perspective, Arsenal quickly restored their three-goal cushion, but it was certainly a contentious moment.

Declan Rice not the only Arsenal player booed against West Ham

Of course, returning to face his old club, Rice was subject to one or two boos on Saturday evening.

Rice made his feelings clear about West Ham fans before the game, and some remain supportive of their former captain in fairness.

But it was Bukayo Saka who was booed off of the pitch when he was substituted in the second half.

Saka shushed the home crowd after scoring his penalty – a player who is often loathed by opposition fans simply because he’s carving their team open.

A remarkable talent, and one that Ethan Nwaneri will hope to emulate in the future at the Emirates Stadium.