Rampant Arsenal thrash West Ham to go second

Bukayo Saka starred as a rampant Arsenal moved into second spot in the Premier League table with a thumping 5-2 victory over woeful West Ham at the London Stadium.

The Gunners, who won 6-0 in this fixture last season, were utterly dominant from the kick-off once again and roared into a four-goal lead inside 36 minutes courtesy of strikes from Gabriel, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard (penalty) and Kai Havertz.

West Ham looked beleaguered but somehow halved the deficit with two goals in two minutes.

First, Aaron Wan-Bissaka fired a low strike home at the near post and then Emerson whipped a sublime free kick in off the crossbar.

The Hammers supporters were suddenly ignited in hope of an unlikely comeback, but they were dealt a dose of reality in first-half stoppage time when the excellent Saka converted Arsenal’s second penalty of the evening.

Arsenal managed the game following the restart in a low-key second half that was in stark contrast to the excitement of the first 45.

The result moves the second-placed Gunners to within six points of leaders Liverpool, who face champions Manchester City on Sunday.

Next up, West Ham, who stay 14th, visit Leicester City on Tuesday night. Arsenal host Manchester United on Wednesday.

The return of Martin Odegaard has certainly inspired Arsenal into the sort of form that saw The Gunners go close to Premier League title glory last term.

There’s work to be done at this juncture, but this latest win cuts the gap to the summit and cranks up the heat on Liverpool and Manchester City ahead of the clash between the leaders and the champions at Anfield on Sunday.

Arteta has already played some mind games heading into this weekend by suggesting a Liverpool drop-off will come eventually and his Gunners side certainly have a run of fixtures leading into the New Year that could and should see them put together a winning streak.

Indeed, according to their current schedule, The Gunners play 11 of their next 12 matches in London which could be a blessing in terms of recovery time and travel given the quick turnaround of games at this time of year.

There was a brief lapse at the end of the first half, but overall this was Arsenal back to their free-scoring best – with 13 goals at home and abroad within a week – and a clear hunger for the job of hunting down Liverpool.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal). The 23-year-old’s goal involvements for the season continue to flourish with two more assists and a goal from the spot helping to cap a superb all-round display.

WEST HAM: Fabianski 5, Wan-Bissaka 7, Emerson 6, Kilman 5, Todibo 5, Soucek 5, Soler 6, Paqueta 5, Bowen 6, Summerville 5, Antonio 5. Subs: Alvarez 6, Soufal 6, Ings 6, Rodriguez 5, Irving 5.

ARSENAL: Raya 6, Timber 7, Calafiori 6, Saliba 7, Gabriel 8, Jorginho 7, Rice 7, Odegaard 8, Saka 9, Trossard 8, Havertz 8. Subs: Kiwior 7, Zinchenko 6, Jesus 6, Sterling 6, Nwaneri n/a.

10’ – GOAL! – West Ham 0-1 Arsenal: (Gabriel). Gabriel whispers instructions to his teammates as they all gather beyond the far post. Saka eventually takes the right-wing corner with Gabriel leading the surge to the near post where he arrives on cue to flick a head beyond Fabianski.

27’ – GOAL! – West Ham 0-2 Arsenal: (Trossard). The Gunners are cruising now. A slick one-two between Odegaard and Saka ends with the latter rolling it across for Trossard to tap home.

34’ – GOAL! – West Ham 0-3 Arsenal: (Odegaard). The Norwegian squeezes a low spot kick beyond the reach of Fabianski after Saka was tripped by Paqueta.

36’ – GOAL! – West Ham 0-4 Arsenal: (Havertz). Dreamland! Havertz races on to Trossard’s glorious long pass and makes no mistake with a composed finish beyond Fabianski.

38’ – GOAL! – West Ham 1-4 Arsenal: (Wan-Bissaka). Wan-Bissaka pulls one back with a lovely, low finish at the near post after making a clever run in-behind to get on the end of Soler’s sumptuous, threaded pass.

40’ – GOAL! – West Ham 2-4 Arsenal: (Emerson). Hold the phone! The Hammers cut the lead in half within minutes as Emerson whips a stunning 25-yard free kick into the top corner via the crossbar.

45+5’ – GOAL! – West Ham 2-5 Arsenal: (Saka). The Gunners regain the momentum on the stroke of half time as Saka converts the penalty despite Fabianski getting a big hand to it. The goalkeeper was the guilty party in conceding the second spot kick of the game as he missed the ball and punched Gabriel trying to deal with a delivery into his six-yard box.