LONDON, United Kingdom, November 30 – Arsenal moved second in the Premier League after a frenetic victory over West Ham at London Stadium in which seven goals were scored in the first half.
The Gunners led after 10 minutes when centre-back Gabriel flicked home Bukayo Saka’s corner at the near post after escaping loose West Ham marking.
And the lead was doubled after 27 minutes when Leandro Trossard finished a flowing Arsenal move from close range. Saka was again the provider, played in by a chipped Martin Odegaard through ball before squaring to Trossard to finish.
Then followed a frantic period of four goals in six minutes, started by Odegaard making it three shortly following the hour mark from the penalty spot after Saka was tripped in the area by Lucas Paqueta.
And Arsenal went 4-0 up after 36 minutes when a long ball was missed by home defender Max Kilman, allowing Kai Havertz to finish one-on-one past beleagured goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham responded when right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his second goal in consecutive games with a near-post finish, before left-back Emerson reduced the arrears to 4-2 with a magnificent free-kick that crashed in off the crossbar.
But Arsenal restored their three-goal lead with a second penalty, this time netted by Saka for his first away league goal of the season after Fabianski accidentally punched Gabriel while trying to clear a corner.
This was only the fourth time in Premier League history that seven goals have been scored in the first half of a game – but there were none after the break as Arsenal comfortably saw out the win.
Victory moves Mikel Arteta’s side six points behind leaders Liverpool, who face third-place Manchester City on Sunday (16:00 GMT).
West Ham remain 14th in the table, six points above the relegation zone.
Fluent attack, questionable defence for Arsenal
While Arteta’s team are known for their flowing football, their prowess from set-pieces this season is proving invaluable.
Before his opening goal, Gabriel was seen in deep discussions with corner taker Saka, before passing on various instructions and hand signals to team-mates in the box.
It paid off once again for Arsenal, who have unlocked a rich scoring outlet in Gabriel.
It is the Brazilian’s third Premier League goal of the season, taking him joint second for Arsenal in the top flight.
The centre-back netted against Sporting in the Champions League midweek, and Arteta would have been delighted that he shook off a knock which meant he was substituted in Portugal.
He would have been less delighted by having to sub Gabriel at half-time after he was caught by Fabianski, and the loose Arsenal defending which allowed West Ham back into the match with two goals in three minutes. Such sloppiness could undermine their ambitions to be Liverpool’s main title challengers this season.
But he could have no complaints about the finishing, which meant Arsenal ended a run of four away league games without victory.
Good feeling fades fast for West Ham
After a deserved win on Monday at Newcastle restored optimism to West Ham and lifted pressure on manager Julen Lopetegui, the chaos of the first half here wiped that good feeling away.
A perfect piece of pathetic fallacy was witnessed as a balmy November day in east London gave way to driving rain in the first half as goal after Arsenal goal hit the Hammers net.
Lopetegui, sat high in the London Stadium seating because of a touchline ban for three yellow cards, looked dejected as his side were ripped apart.
There were some bright moments – Crysencio Summerville brilliantly chipped David Raya on 17 minutes after being set through one-on-one, but he was belatedly flagged offside.
And his side still largely have the support of the fans, who roared the team on as they scored quick goals at the end of the first half.
But as they have been against the leading Premier League sides this season, West Ham were outclassed. They have lost all six games against teams in the top eight.
There were plenty of white seats by the end, with fans who remained groaning as Danny Ings rounded Raya but shot across the face of goal.
