Five-Star Arsenal Dominate West Ham to Secure Second Place

Arsenal delivered a stunning performance, crushing West Ham with a five-star display to climb to second place in the Premier League standings.

Arsenal surged to second place in the Premier League with a commanding 5-2 victory over West Ham, reinvigorating their title ambitions.

Mikel Arteta’s team dominated the first half at the London Stadium, netting five goals to close within six points of league leaders Liverpool. Meanwhile, Liverpool is set to face off against struggling title holders Manchester City on Sunday.

Gabriel Magalhaes started the scoring spree with an early goal, followed by Leandro Trossard who extended Arsenal’s lead.

Martin Odegaard’s penalty was succeeded by Kai Havertz scoring his ninth goal of the season.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson scored back-to-back goals for West Ham, but Bukayo Saka’s penalty highlighted a stellar performance by the Arsenal forward.

The Gunners’ title aspirations suffered a significant setback due to going four league games without a win before their victory over Nottingham Forest last weekend.

This week, Arteta acknowledged that Arsenal needs to be nearly flawless in order to catch up with Liverpool.

Following their 5-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday, this performance provided further proof that although Arteta’s team might not be perfect yet, they are definitely back on track.

Arsenal’s first top-flight away win since September served as a timely reminder that the team, which challenged City closely in last season’s title race, should not be dismissed with more than half of this season remaining.

Arsenal, in pursuit of their first title since 2004, have been rejuvenated by the return of captain Martin Odegaard. He had missed 12 matches across all competitions due to an ankle injury.

Since the Norwegian midfielder returned to Arsenal’s starting line-up, the team has remained unbeaten in four consecutive games. They are now preparing for Manchester United’s visit to Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui eased some of the growing pressure on him with Monday’s victory at Newcastle.

However, Arteta, originating from the same Basque region as his close friend Lopetegui, displayed no mercy as Arsenal dominated in an incredible first half.

Dominant Arsenal

Arsenal’s Brazilian defender, Gabriel Magalhaes (#06), celebrates with his teammates after scoring the first goal in the English Premier League match against West Ham United at London’s London Stadium on November 30, 2024. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)

On their last visit to the London Stadium in February, Arsenal triumphed with a 6-0 victory and once again proved to be unstoppable in Stratford.

Once again this term, it was set-piece coach Nicolas Jover who orchestrated Arsenal’s opening goal.

Saka delivered a curling corner, and Gabriel took advantage of Jover’s smart tactic by finding space to direct his low header into the far corner from six yards out.

The visitors scored once more in the 27th minute as Saka and Odegaard combined brilliantly in midfield, leading to a precise pass from Saka that Trossard converted with ease from close range.

Arsenal, playing with great intensity, consistently broke through the host’s defense with ease. Unsurprisingly, they scored another goal just seven minutes later.

Lucas Paqueta fouled Saka in the penalty area, allowing Odegaard to confidently convert the resulting spot-kick for his first goal since April.

As West Ham found themselves in disarray and their shell-shocked fans began leaving early, Havertz deepened the misery by scoring in the 36th minute.

Trossard’s sweeping pass found Havertz in the clear after West Ham defender Max Kilman humorously lost his footing, allowing the German ample time and space to send a low shot past Lukasz Fabianski.

In the 38th minute, Wan-Bissaka disrupted Arsenal’s momentum by breaking into the area and firing a shot past David Raya after receiving a pass from Carlos Soler.

Two minutes later, Arteta appeared furious as West Ham left-back Emerson curled a superb free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards out.

However, Arsenal’s surprising stumble turned out to be a false hope for West Ham.

In the depths of first-half stoppage time, Fabianski unintentionally struck Gabriel in the head while contesting a corner, resulting in a penalty that Saka narrowly slotted past the Polish goalkeeper’s feeble save attempt.

The total of seven goals matched the record for the highest number scored in the first half of a Premier League game.

After Gabriel was compelled to leave at halftime, Arteta’s primary focus in the second half was preventing additional injuries. Saka, Odegaard, and Trossard continued playing despite enduring some hard tackles.

AFP