Arsenal 0-1 West Ham: Bowen deals huge blow to Arteta´s title hopes

Arsenal missed the chance to cut Liverpool’s lead at the Premier League summit as they were reduced to 10 men and slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham.

After Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday, Arsenal had the opportunity to go five points behind the Reds, who visit Manchester City on Sunday.

However, Mikel Arteta’s team struggled to carve out chances against a well-drilled West Ham defence at the Emirates Stadium, having deployed Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker following his matchwinning brace at Leicester City last week.

Their sloppy display was punished when Jarrod Bowen nodded Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross home just before half-time, after West Ham had squandered three half-chances.

Deprived of attacking options, Arsenal’s hopes were dented further when substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off in the 73rd minute, having chopped Mohammed Kudus down with a last-man challenge.

Aged 18 years, 121 days old, Myles Lewis-Skelly becomes the youngest player in Premier League history to be sent off more than once.

His red against Wolves was rescinded; this one probably won’t be… pic.twitter.com/6BTzPzstb4

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) February 22, 2025

Ben White went close to a last-gasp leveller, but West Ham held on.

They stay 16th, 13 points clear of the relegation zone, while Arsenal could find themselves 11 points behind Liverpool by the end of the weekend.

Data Debrief: Potter works more magic against toothless Arsenal

Graham Potter switched to a 3-5-2 system for Saturday’s game, and he was rewarded with a resolute defensive performance that limited Arsenal to just two shots on target.

The former Brighton and Chelsea boss has now won four of his five games against Arsenal at the Emirates, with only Pep Guardiola (eight) and Jurgen Klopp (six) boasting more victories there as a visiting manager.

Arsenal had won 6-0 and 5-2 in their previous two league games against West Ham, but their 20 attempts totalled just 1.23 expected goals (xG) to the visitors’ 1.2 (from only five shots).

Their hopes of a comeback were dashed when Lewis-Skelly received his second Premier League red card, becoming the youngest player in competition history to be sent off more than once (aged 18 years, 121 days).

His first red – received against Wolves last month – was rescinded on appeal, but he could have no complaints here after scything Kudus down as the last man.