Arsenal stood, eyes fixed on the referee, waiting for the signal. And when it came, the celebrations that followed were more of relief than anything else.
This was a huge win for the Gunners against West Ham, one that was secured when Alexandre Lacazette’s close-range volley - which had first been ruled out due to an offside flag - was rightly awarded by VAR with just 12 minutes remaining.
It meant they had won three successive games in the Premier League for the first time this season, but more importantly it moved them to within three points of the top five.
And for Lacazette it was arguably his biggest and most important contribution of the campaign so far.
The fact he wasn’t given the opportunity to properly celebrate the goal summed up how things have gone for him during these past few months.
It’s been a pretty miserable season for the former Lyon man, but he has now scored three times in his last four appearances and is slowly beginning to make the sort of impact that is expected of him in north London.
And with two months of the campaign remaining, a confident Lacazette is going to be vital if Arsenal are to go on and secure themselves the Champions League football they desperately crave.
As Mikel Arteta said in the build-up to his side’s game against West Ham, they have given themselves a chance thanks to recent results - something that looked impossible just a few weeks ago.
Now it’s about taking it game by game and this 1-0 victory, as scrappy as it was, keeps them in touching distance ahead of Wednesday night’s trip to champions Manchester City.
It could have been very different, however, if West Ham had taken just one of the many chances they created.
Just like they did against Everton last time out in the league, Arsenal started poorly and they could have been behind inside two minutes when Jarrod Bowen struck the post from distance after Granit Xhaka had carelessly given the ball away.
The visitors then wasted a golden chance to open the scoring when Michail Antonio got in behind Pablo Mari and had strike partner Sebastian Haller open in the box.
All he had to do was pick out the Frenchman with a simple pass, but he got his cross all wrong and Arsenal managed to clear.
It was a lucky escape for the hosts and they would go on to have another before half-time. Before that, though, they had chances to break the deadlock themselves at the other end.
The first saw a Mesut Ozil shot blocked after the ball had bounced kindly to the German off Eddie Nketiah, and the second resulted in Sokratis thumping a header against the bar from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s cross.
As the half wore on, Arsenal continued to dominate possession, but West Ham were always a threat and they should have scored five minutes before the interval - Antonio somehow turning an effort wide from point-blank range after Issa Diop had knocked down a Mark Noble corner.
The hosts started the second half brightly and some good play from Bukayo Saka created a chance for Nketiah, but Lukas Fabianski did well to come out quickly and block the shot.
Then at the other end Antonio wasted another golden chance when his header was expertly kept out by Bernd Leno.
Lacazette replaced Nketiah with half an hour remaining, but his introduction didn’t really look like making much of a difference as Arsenal struggled to break down their resolute visitors.
But then, 12 minutes from time, Aubameyang’s blocked shot looped up in the air and fell to Ozil, whose cushioned header was volleyed past Fabianski by the Gunners’ frontman.
The flag of referee’s assistant Sian Massey-Ellis cut short the initial celebrations, but the goal was looked at by VAR at Stockley Park and correctly awarded.
It was heartbreak for relegation-threatened West Ham, but for Arsenal and Lacazette it was a huge moment and one that keeps the Champions League alive... just!