Arsenal climbed to second spot on the Premier League table after thrashing London rivals West Ham United 5-2 on Saturday evening.
Premier League
Result: West Ham United 5-2 Arsenal
Date: 30 November 2024
Venue: London Stadium
Mikel Arteta handed a recall to Leandro Trossard and Jorginho, as Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli dropped out after the midweek UEFA Champions League action.The Gunners got off to the perfect start as defender Gabriel bagged his fourth goal of the season by nodding home a corner from Bukayo Saka on ten minutes.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 26th minute when Martin Odegaard did well to play in Saka, who unselfishly teed up Trossard for the close range finish into an empty net just a few minutes after West Ham had a goal disallowed.
It was one-way traffic there after as Saka won the Gunners a penalty on 34 minutes after being fouled by Lucas Paqueta. Odegaard stepped up instead of Saka and calmly slotted away the spot-kick.
The final ten minutes of the first half proved to be quite entertaining as Kai Havertz put the Gunners 4-0 up with a composed finish, which ultimately sent some home fans out of the stadium after 36 minutes
However, Aaron wan Bissaka pulled a goal back for the Hammers two minutes later with a lovely finish before Emerson made it 4-2 with a lovely free-kick on the edge of the 18 yard area to set up a lively second period.
There was more drama in first-half added on when the Gunners were awarded their second penalty for Lukasz Fabianski's foul on Gabriel. Saka did step up this time and made no mistake by slotting into the far corner.
The second half, however, was a complete contrast to the first although the Hammers did se a bit more of the ball without really creating much in the final third.
That proved to be the trend for the rest of the half, as Arteta was able to withdraw the likes of Saka, Gabriel and Odegaard or the final stages to see out the rest of the win.
Arteta's charges will be back in action on Wednesday evening when they host old rivals Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
