Chaotic match at the London Stadium
West Ham United 2 - 5 Arsenal
Arsenal climbed to second place in the Premier League with a thrilling victory over West Ham at the London Stadium, where an astonishing seven goals were scored in the first half.
The Gunners took the lead just 10 minutes in when centre-back Gabriel flicked Bukayo Saka’s corner into the net at the near post, capitalising on some slack West Ham marking.
Their advantage was doubled in the 27th minute through Leandro Trossard, who finished off a flowing team move. Saka, once again the architect, was played in by Martin Odegaard’s clever chipped-through ball before squaring it perfectly for Trossard to tap home.
What followed was a chaotic six-minute spell that saw four goals fly in. Odegaard made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after Lucas Paquetá brought down Saka in the box. Just minutes later, Kai Havertz pounced on a defensive error by Max Kilman, racing through to slot past a stranded Łukasz Fabiański and put Arsenal 4-0 up.
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West Ham hit back swiftly, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka netting his second goal in as many games with a smart near-post finish. Left-back Emerson then reduced the deficit further, curling in a stunning free-kick that clattered off the crossbar on its way in to make it 4-2.
Arsenal restored their cushion before the break, courtesy of a second penalty. Saka converted confidently after Fabiański accidentally punched Gabriel while attempting to clear a corner, marking his first away league goal of the season.
Remarkably, this was only the fourth time in Premier League history that seven goals had been scored in the first half of a match. However, the second half was a far calmer affair. Arsenal saw the game out well.
View from the away end
We can only imagine what the half-time team talk must have been like. How do you even begin to make sense of that chaotic first 45 minutes? What do you even say to the players? I suppose the main message would have been something like, "Keep it simple and don’t do anything reckless," because with a three-goal lead, you’re in control.
That said, 5-2 feels very different to 3-0, and given how wild the game had been, you wouldn’t have been surprised if more chaos unfolded in the second half. That being said, we saw the game out well. It was a good way to end what has been a very good week.
West Ham's good mood vanishes away
After Monday’s well-earned victory at Newcastle reignited optimism at West Ham and eased the pressure on Julen Lopetegui, the chaos of this first half quickly undid that positivity.
You could have said it was almost poetic as a warm November afternoon at the London Stadium turned into torrential rain during the first half, mirroring the downpour of Arsenal goals crashing into the Hammers’ net.
Lopetegui, watching from the stands due to a touchline ban after picking up three yellow cards, could only look on helplessly as his team were torn apart. The only small crumb of comfort was that West Ham fought back for a brief period. What looked like it could have been absolute thrashing was 'only' a 5-2 defeat. Still, so much to think about for the West Ham boss and those running the club.
