Arsenal moved into the top four of the Premier League standings with a 2-0 win over ten-man West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium.
Result: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham United
Date: 15 December 2021
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped once again after being stripped of the captain's armband, which went to Alexandre Lacazette as Mikel Arteta went with the same team who started against Southampton.
The clash was played at a lively tempo in the early stages and while the Gunners edged the possession, clear-cut chances were hard to come by as Lukasz Fabianski barely had a save to make in the opening 20 minutes.
The Hammers had the first real sight at goal in the 34th minute when a headed clearance landed at the feet of Pablo Fornals, who sent a curling strike just wide of the upright.
The hosts should have been ahead on the stroke of halftime when Fabianski parried Lacazette's cross into the path of Gabriel Martinelli, who placed his effort wide from close-range.
However, Martinelli got his reward two minutes into the second half after latching onto a pass from Lacazette before slotting into the far corner.
The Gunners were afforded the chance to double their lead on 66 minutes when Lacazette was brought down under the challenge of Vladimir Coufal, who received his second yellow card and was sent off.
Lacazette took responsibility for the spot-kick but saw his effort saved by Fabianski, giving West Ham hope getting back into the game with 20 minutes to go.
However, Emile Smith-Rowe made sure of the result with three minutes left on the clock after surging towards the box before burying the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
