EPL: Arsenal move second after beating West Ham in 7-goal thriller

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.

Arsenal took an early lead in the 10th minute when centre-back Gabriel capitalized on poor West Ham marking to flick Bukayo Saka’s corner into the net.

The advantage was doubled in the 27th minute as Leandro Trossard converted a well-executed Arsenal move.

Saka, set up by Martin Odegaard’s clever chipped through ball, squared it to Trossard for a simple finish.

A chaotic spell of four goals in six minutes ensued after the half hour mark, beginning with Odegaard scoring Arsenal’s third from the penalty spot following Lucas Paqueta’s foul on Saka in the box.

Read Also: Barcelona fall to shock defeat against struggling Las Palmas

Arsenal extended their lead to 4-0 in the 36th minute through Kai Havertz, before West Ham fought back as right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored. Left-back Emerson then made it 4-2 with a stunning free-kick that rattled in off the crossbar.

However, Arsenal restored their three-goal cushion through a second penalty, converted by Saka.

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.

In other Premier League games played earlier in the day, Brentford thrashed Leicester City 4-1; Wolves lost 4-2 against Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace played 1-1, while Nottingham Forest pipped Ipswich Town 1-0.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now