Arsenal rose to second in the Premier League table with an absorbing 5-2 win over London rivals West Ham United at the London Stadium, a derby in which all seven goals were scored in the first half.
Briefly threatening to outdo last season's Hammers hammering, Arsenal stormed into a four-goal advantage through Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz before the hosts - missing the banned Julen Lopetegui from the touchline - threatened an almighty turnaround.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri netted within three minutes of one another late in the first half, but Bukayo Saka's second penalty in as many games extinguished Irons' hopes of an improbable fightback and continued the Gunners' prolific post-international break revival.
Returning to the location of their 6-0 slaughter of David Moyes's crop in the 2023-24 campaign, the travelling Gooners may have momentarily believed that they had travelled back in time, as Arteta's men tore the hosts to shreds in the first half-hour.
A customary corner header from Gabriel, Trossard's tap-in, Odegaard's clinical penalty and Havertz's calm finish propelled Arsenal into a scarcely believable 4-0 lead, but the chaotic action was only just beginning, as West Ham suddenly threatened an astonishing turnaround through Wan-Bissaka and Emerson.
However, a second Gunners penalty was dispatched by Saka as the visitors arrested their collapse - just as they did against Sporting Lisbon - and the second half was unsurprisingly much more low-key than the frenzied first.
Arsenal were threatening to repeat their six-goal trick from their last visit to West Ham's turf, but the Irons belatedly found some defensive steel and did not give up in the final third either, although their efforts to complete an unbelievable comeback were futile.
Piling the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City before Sunday's clash of the titans at Anfield, Arsenal have moved into the runners-up spot and have cut the gap to the Reds to six points, albeit having played a game more than Arne Slot's troops.
As for West Ham, whose defensive display in the opening 36 minutes was nothing short of shambolic, they reside in 14th place in the table after being immediately brought crashing back down to earth.
WEST HAM VS. ARSENAL HIGHLIGHTS
Gabriel Magalhaes goal vs. West Ham (10th min, West Ham 0-1 Arsenal)
"Who else but Gabriel!?" 😤
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
Arsenal are in front at the London Stadium 👊 pic.twitter.com/ZSqyinEW1w
Copy and paste.
Inswinging Saka corner, pinpoint Gabriel header. The Brazilian makes a terrific run across the six-yard box to meet Saka's delivery and directs an accurate aerial effort into the far corner to give the visitors the lead.
Leandro Trossard goal vs. West Ham (27th min, West Ham 0-2 Arsenal)
"Effortless."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
Saka and Odegaard link up to create the goal and Trossard is there to finish it off 🪄 pic.twitter.com/cecmQ6f9BA
Oh how Arsenal have missed Odegaard.
The Scandinavian sensation finds Saka's run into the box with a deft ball over the top, and the Englishman sends in a low ball into the six-yard box, which is missed by Havertz but not by Trossard.
Martin Odegaard goal vs. West Ham (34th min, West Ham 0-3 Arsenal)
Odegaard from the spot 🎯👊 pic.twitter.com/cfYLRGnq1y
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
If you cannot tackle Saka, foul Saka... at least not in the penalty area. Unfortunately for Lucas Paqueta, that is exactly what he does, and Anthony Taylor immediately points to the penalty spot.
Saka stands over the penalty spot for an age before unexpectedly handing the ball over to Odegaard, whose low penalty is perfectly placed into the side of the net out of Lukasz Fabianski's reach.
Kai Havertz goal vs. West Ham (36th min, West Ham 0-4 Arsenal)
The ball from Trossard 😍
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
The finish from Havertz 😍
36 minutes on the clock and Arsenal have FOUR! pic.twitter.com/B7YlvWyVGH
Flashbacks aplenty for the West Ham faithful as a merciless Arsenal crop score their fourth with just 36 minutes gone, thanks in no small part to a defensive howler.
Max Kilman tries to cut out a long ball over the top and misses, putting Havertz through one-on-one with Fabianski, and the German makes no mistake with a ruthless finish into the corner.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka goal vs. Arsenal (38th min, West Ham 1-4 Arsenal)
London buses for Wan-Bissaka, who has two Premier League goals in the space of a week!
The ex-Manchester United man offers the hosts a flicker of hope with a low finish at David Raya's near post after a defence-splitting pass from Carlos Soler took Riccardo Calafiori and Trossard out of the equation.
Emerson Palmieri goal vs. Arsenal (40th min, West Ham 2-4 Arsenal)
No stopping that ☄️
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
What a free kick from Emerson?! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Rrw2Jnb6DT
Newcastle United vs. Arsenal circa 2011 anyone? Lopetegui's men have finally woken up and cut the deficit in half within a matter of moments.
Emerson lines up a free kick some 25 yards from goal and launches a spectacular set-piece over the wall, off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net. Game on or a false dawn?
Bukayo Saka goal vs. West Ham (45+5 min, West Ham 2-5 Arsenal)
The answer to the last question is seemingly the latter. Arsenal scream for a penalty after Fabianski appears to punch Gabriel in the head from a corner, and after a few seconds of deliberation, Taylor points to the spot.
Saka does not relinquish penalty duties this time and quickly kills the hosts' momentum with a successful spot kick, which Fabianski gets a good hand to but can only divert further into the corner.
No real difference to that situation and the Mikel Merino Yann Sommer one in Arsenal's loss to Inter Milan in the Champions League, only that this one was given.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BUKAYO SAKA
© Imago
A perpetual tormentor of left-backs all across Europe, Saka trudged off the pitch in the second half after being directly involved in three of Arsenal's five goals, one of his own and another two assists to streak further clear at the top of the Premier League's playmaking charts.
Very rarely does the England international fail to pick out a teammate from a corner, displaying remarkably consistent accuracy from the flag, although yet another knock to the ankle will be of some concern before Manchester United stop over at the Emirates.
WEST HAM VS. ARSENAL MATCH STATS
Possession: West Ham 39%-61% Arsenal
Shots: West Ham 11-15 Arsenal
Shots on target: West Ham 5-7 Arsenal
Corners: West Ham 2-10 Arsenal
Fouls: West Ham 10-12 Arsenal
BEST STATS
7 - West Ham v Arsenal is only the fourth Premier League game to see seven goals in the first half alone, after Blackburn v Leeds in September 1997, Bradford v Derby in April 2000, and Reading v Man Utd in December 2012. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/Zji8BguDu6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
10 - Bukayo Saka has 10 assists in Arsenal's 13 Premier League games this term; only Cesc Fàbregas in 2014-15 (12), Mesut Özil in 2015-16 (12), & Harry Kane in 2020-21 (11) have reached 10 assists in fewer of a team's games from the start of a season in the competition. Platter. pic.twitter.com/9c6T2hvLK6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
5 - Arsenal have scored 5+ goals in five away games in all competitions in 2024, a joint-record by an English top-flight team in a single calendar year, along with Sunderland in 1892 and Manchester City in 1937. Relentless. pic.twitter.com/1uWL5qexUr
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
WHAT NEXT?
A trip to Leicester City awaits West Ham on Tuesday evening, when the Irons will become the Foxes' first opponents of the Ruud van Nistelrooy era at the King Power Stadium.
Coincidentally, Arsenal are next in action against the Dutchman's former side, hosting old foes Manchester United in Wednesday's Premier League spectacle.
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