Arsenal 2–0 West Ham United
West Ham offered little resistance against the league’s three-time runners-up.
Arsenal’s push to end their title drought continued with another convincing victory, as they dominated from start to finish and defeated West Ham United.
At the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, the hosts earned a 2-0 Premier League win. Declan Rice opened the scoring before Bukayo Saka doubled the lead.
On their way to a fifth league win, Arsenal enjoyed over 65% possession and fired 21 shots, with five on target.
With the win, Arsenal climbed to the top of the table with 16 points from seven games. Defending champions Liverpool, currently second with 15 points from six matches, could reclaim top spot if they beat Chelsea in the day’s late fixture.
Arsenal began aggressively, keeping possession and carving out their first clear chance in the 13th minute, but Eberechi Eze astonishingly blasted over from close range.
In the 24th minute, Bukayo Saka slotted the ball into the net, only for the offside flag to rule it out. Returning from injury, captain Martin Ødegaard felt discomfort in his knee and, despite trying to carry on, was forced off in the 29th minute.
The breakthrough came in the 38th minute. Eze’s shot was parried by the goalkeeper, but the rebound fell to an unmarked Rice, who hammered it home to give Arsenal the lead.
Although Arsenal’s intensity dipped somewhat after the break, West Ham failed to threaten.
In the 67th minute, Saka converted from the penalty spot after Jurrien Timber was fouled in the box, extending the advantage to 2-0.
West Ham’s best opportunity came in stoppage time when Callum Marshall headed wide from close range. Remarkably, none of their four attempts were on target.
West Ham left the pitch with their fifth defeat of the season and sit 19th in the table with just four points from seven games.
