West Ham 2-5 Arsenal: Talking points as Gunners run first-half riot at London Stadium

Arsenal left the London Stadium with three Premier League points after a well-deserved victory over West Ham on Saturday evening.

The Gunners were up by four very early through goals from Gabriel Magalhaes (10′), Leandro Trossard (27′), Martin Odegaard from the spot (34′), and Kai Havertz (36′). Aaron Wan-Bissaka reduced the Hammers’ deficit (38′) and then a brilliant Emerson Palmieri free-kick made it 2-4 (40′). But in the dying seconds of the first half, Arsenal were awarded another penalty and this time it was Bukayo Saka who converted, setting what would end up being the final score of the match.

The Teams

Both teams were arranged in the 4-2-3-1 shape.

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui was suspended for this game and watched on from the stands as assistant manager Pablo Sanz gave his all to inspire the players against the title-contending visitors. Lukasz Fabianski, once an Arsenal man himself, was between the posts. Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman were the centre-backs, flanked by goalscorers Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson. Soler paired up with Tomas Soucek in the middle of the park, while the trio of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Crysencio Summerville supported striker Michail Antonio.

For Arsenal, meanwhile, David Raya was in goal, protected by the back four of Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber. With Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey both absent through injury, Jorginho started alongside Declan Rice in midfield. Trossard was given the nod over Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing, Saka was on the right, and Odegaard took up his position behind striker Kai Havertz.

Incredible first half

Sitting a point behind Manchester City and Brighton, and nine behind league leaders Liverpool, Arsenal entered the contest with obvious determination not to be ruled out of the title race just yet. They established full control from the first whistle and kept the ball as close to the West Ham goal as possible.

The Hammers withstood their onsets for as long as they could, but in the 10th minute, Arsenal struck with their special weapon again as Saka delivered a nicely placed corner to the near post for Gabriel to head home. The contest obviously wasn’t over just yet at that point and West Ham tried hard to make their voices count for something in the match, but they simply didn’t have the quality it takes to stop Arsenal when they’re playing like this.

The full strength of the visitors was on display in the 27th minute, when Saka played the ball to Odegaard and kept running down the flank. The Norwegian then produced a magical pass to return it to Saka, whose low cross took Fabianski out and found Trossard at the far post, with the net gaping wide. 0-2. Saka again played a big part for Arsenal’s third, moving into the box and forcing a foul from Paqueta. Odegaard kept his cool and beat Fabianski from the spot.

West Ham seemed to have fallen completely apart at that point, and two minutes later, Kilman made a howling mistake which enabled Havertz a clear run at goal. The Germany international executed perfectly, making it 0-4.

But then something woke up inside West Ham, or maybe Arsenal became too complacent for a while. Whatever it was, the Gunners were completely undone by a fantastic pass from Soler from the middle of the park to the right flank, where Wan-Bissaka was making his run. The former Manchester United fullback beat Raya from a relatively tight angle, and the Hammers unexpectedly got a goal back.

Feeling that the visitors can be hurt after all, Lopetegui’s men regained hope and forced their opponents to concede a free-kick just over 20 yards out. Emerson whipped a fantastic shot that bounced off the crossbar on its way in, and the score was now 2-4, with more than half of the match still to play.

Arsenal regained some composure after that and the contest appeared finely balanced as the first half went into stoppage time, when Arsenal were another corner. The cross was aimed at Gabriel again, but just as the Brazilian made contact with the ball, Fabianski’s fist grazed his head and he went down, apparently in agony. Referee Anthony Taylor had a clear view of the situation and showed no hesitation as he awarded Arsenal another penalty, booking the West Ham goalkeeper for being reckless.

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This time it was Saka who stepped up, and though Fabianski read his intention and got his hand to the ball, he couldn’t divert it sufficiently to prevent Arsenal from scoring their fifth goal.

Arsenal cruise to victory

There was very little action worthy of talking about in the second half, which was obviously the way Mikel Arteta in the away dugout wanted it to be. Arsenal slowed the play down completely, rarely rushing forward at all so as not to risk getting exposed at the back again. But they had no problems in keeping possession, and the Hammers were mostly trying to catch smoke with their bare hands.

Sanz, probably instructed by Lopetegui from the stands, changed the West Ham formation after the break to 4-3-3 by introducing Edson Alvares for Summerville. In the 65th minute, Antonio made way for Danny Ings and Vladimir Coufal replaced Emerson. West Ham’s last two changes were made in the 78th minute, with Andy Irving and Guido Rodriguez replacing Soler and Paqueta. Still, none of the changes made any impact on the proceedings on the pitch.

On the other hand, Arteta left Gabriel in the dressing room at the break, indicating that the contact with Fabianski’s fist that caused the second penalty might have done some damage, and Jakub Kiwior came on. Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced Calafiori at left-back in the 56th minute, and Arsenal’s attacking ranks were refreshed in the 74th when Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling came on instead of Saka and Havertz. Finally, Arteta gave the last five minutes of the 90 to young Ethan Nwaneri, who replaced Trossard.

The introduction of Jesus and Sterling brought a bit of spark to the game and Arsenal could’ve perhaps scored one or two more. The two experienced forwards are obviously motivated to show they can still be relied on, but in all honesty, they’ve rightly taken the back seat to the Havertz and Saka.

The aftermath

West Ham are now in 14th place with 15 points, six more than Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town who both sit in the relegation zone. In theory, they might drop to 15th on Sunday, if Everton avoid defeat at Old Trafford.

But Lopetegui, providing he survives in his job after this match, will want to focus on his own team and their own fixtures. It’s become very important for the Hammers to record good results away to Leicester City and at home against Wolves in the next two games.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will be looking up as they watch the clash between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. They’ve now overtaken the reigning champions and Brighton, and least for a day they sit in second place, with six points separating them from the top spot.