Arsenal climb to second place after crushing West Ham

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Arsenal surged into second place in the Premier League with a scintillating 5-2 victory over West Ham, reigniting their title challenge in emphatic fashion.

Mikel Arteta’s side tore through the Hammers in the first half at the London Stadium, netting five goals to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to six points. Liverpool, who are set to host an out-of-sorts Manchester City on Sunday, remain within Arsenal’s sights.

Gabriel Magalhães opened the scoring early on before Leandro Trossard doubled the lead. Martin Ødegaard’s penalty was swiftly followed by Kai Havertz’s ninth goal of the season.

West Ham managed to respond with goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson in quick succession, but Bukayo Saka’s penalty sealed an outstanding performance for the Arsenal forward.

The Gunners had seen their title hopes falter after a run of four league matches without a win before their victory against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Arteta admitted earlier this week that Arsenal must achieve near-perfection to overtake Liverpool. After their dominant 5-1 triumph over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday, this performance further demonstrated that Arsenal are back on track, even if not yet flawless.

This victory, Arsenal’s first top-flight away win since September, was a timely reminder that the team who pushed Manchester City to the limit in last season’s title race should not be written off with more than half the campaign still to play.

Chasing their first league title since 2004, Arsenal have been rejuvenated by the return of captain Martin Ødegaard, who had missed 12 matches across all competitions with an ankle injury. With Ødegaard restored to the starting XI, Arsenal are now unbeaten in four consecutive games. They will host Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, under pressure despite Monday’s win at Newcastle, could not prevent his side from being overwhelmed by Arteta’s relentless Arsenal. The two managers, both hailing from the Basque region, shared no mercy on the pitch as the Gunners dominated an extraordinary first half.

Rampant Arsenal

Arsenal had won 6-0 on their previous visit to the London Stadium in February, and they were equally unstoppable in Stratford.

Once again, set-piece coach Nicolas Jover’s expertise proved decisive. Saka’s corner found Gabriel, who exploited the cleverly designed routine to nod home from six yards in the seventh minute.

The visitors doubled their advantage in the 27th minute with a superb link-up between Saka and Ødegaard. Saka’s precise pass allowed Trossard to finish from close range.

Arsenal continued to carve open West Ham’s defence, adding a third seven minutes later. Lucas Paquetá fouled Saka in the box, and Ødegaard coolly converted the resulting penalty for his first goal since April.

With West Ham reeling and fans already leaving the stadium, Havertz made it 4-0 in the 36th minute. Trossard’s long pass released Havertz, whose composed finish punished a comical slip by defender Max Kilman.

West Ham briefly disrupted Arsenal’s momentum, as Wan-Bissaka scored in the 38th minute following Carlos Soler’s through ball. Two minutes later, Emerson struck a stunning free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards.

However, Arsenal responded in first-half stoppage time. A clumsy challenge by Fabiański on Gabriel resulted in a penalty, which Saka converted to make it 5-2, despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the shot.

The seven-goal first half equalled the Premier League record for most goals scored in the opening 45 minutes of a match.

In the second half, Arteta’s primary concern was avoiding further injuries after Gabriel was forced off at the interval. Saka, Ødegaard, and Trossard endured robust challenges but managed to continue as Arsenal saw out their impressive win.