Arsenal won 5-2 at West Ham on Saturday to move up to second in the table
Gabriel, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were among the scorers
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By JAMES SHARPE and ISAAN KHAN
Published: 15:02 EST, 30 November 2024 | Updated: 15:08 EST, 30 November 2024
Arsenal won 5-2 at West Ham on Saturday night in a remarkable game in which all seven goals arrived before half-time.
The Gunners stormed into a 4-0 lead inside 36 minutes courtesy of strikes from Gabriel, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.
West Ham fans exited the London Stadium en masse after Havertz found the net, but that meant that they missed goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson.
However, Arsenal completed the scoring in first-half added time when Bukayo Saka converted the second penalty of the match.
Odegaard's goal had also come from a spot-kick.
ISAAN KHAN was at the London Stadium to assess the Arsenal display, while JAMES SHARPE had the job of rating the home side's performance. Read their player ratings below.
Arsenal won 5-2 at West Ham United on Saturday when all the goals came before half-time
West Ham
Lucas Fabianski 5
Let five goals in before half-time, not that he could do much about them.
Got booked, and punched Gabriel in the head for Arsenal's second penalty but, considering what other goalkeepers often get away with, can feel a tad unlucky to be penalised.
Made a couple of smart saves, though.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 6
Time to wheel out the old London busses gag. The full back waited more than three years for a goal, his first for West Ham at Newcastle, and then he added another here.
Won more tackles than anyone on the pitch.
He makes so many runs excellent runs into the box Jamie Redknapp in the Sky Sports studio christened him Aaron Wan-BisSalah.
Jean-Clair Todibo 5
Shrugged off a knock to make the starting line-up but so often struggled to deal with the fast, intricate movement of Arsenal's forwards.
The inconsistency of this West Ham side is remarkable at times.
Max Kilman 4.5
A really poor display from the £40million summer signing.
Failed to deal with a long ball over the top from Trossard for Arsenal's fourth, fell over trying to clear it and allowed Havertz to run through.
Emerson 5.5
A stunning free-kick into the top corner at least gave the West Ham fans who hadn't already trudged down the tunnel for an early half-time pint to cheer about.
Tomas Soucek 5
Headed in the opener at Newcastle in a monumental performance but could not muster anywhere near the same here.
A header at the back post failed to trouble David Raya late on.
Lucas Paqueta 5
We saw all sides of Paqueta. The tricky, the frustrating and the downright awful.
A clumsy challenge on Saka gave Arsenal a penalty then, moments later, he gave the ball away cheaply that the Gunners launched forward to strike again but then his fast feet earned the free-kick outside the box that Emerson scored.
Carlos Soler 6.5
The PSG loanee was superb at St James' Park and was again the brightest spark in an albeit dim West Ham midfield.
Took our four Arsenal defenders with his stunning pass to set up Wan-Bissaka – or Wan-Bissalah – for the Hammers' first goal.
Crysencio Summerville 5.5
Had the ball in the net early in the first half with a lovely dinked finish but was flagged, rightly, for offside. Always tried to make something happen so being subbed at half-time when 5-2 down was a little surprising. 5.5
Jarrod Bowen 5
So often the talisman for West Ham, at the heart of everything they do going forward, but under the lights at the London Stadium had one of the quietest nights in recent memory.
A couple of shots, none on target, and just nine passes all game.
Michail Antonio 5
Better defenders than Antonio struggle to cope with Arsenal set-pieces but it was the West Ham striker who lost Gabriel's run for the opening goal.
Struggled to have much impact and was subbed in the second half.
SUBS:
Edson Alvarez (for Summerville, 45min) 6
Back from suspension and an early introduction but did nothing, really, to give West Ham any chance of rescuing anything from the game. 6
Vladimir Coufal (for Emerson, 65min) 5
Was very lucky not to get into deep trouble for a really late tackle on Kiwior with his studs up. On another day…
Danny Ings (for Antonio, 65min) 6
Never tires of putting the effort in but fed off even less than scraps after he came on in the second half. 6
Rodriguez (for Paqueta, 78mins) n/a
Irving (for Soler, 78mins) n/a
Arsenal
David Raya 6.5
Emerson free-kick wouldn't have been stopped by two goalkeepers. Some good distribution down the field.
Jurrien Timber 7
Solid both in attack and defence. Made those inroads forward, while not neglecting his defensive duties.
William Saliba 7
Won't be satisfied with conceding twice, but was not at fault for either of them goals.
Gabriel 8.5
Scored once again from a corner-kick and won his side a penalty after being punched in the face by Lukasz Fabianski when the keeper tried to clear a different corner-kick.
Riccardo Calafiori 6
Out of position for Aaron Wan-Bissaka's goal. Went off injured.
Martin Odegaard 8.5
Telepathy with Bukayo Saka on right wing continued. Great chipped pass to Saka in build-up to Leandro Trossard's goal. Scored his penalty.
Declan Rice 7
Was in overdrive later in the game covering Jorginho. A good package of passes and tackles.
Jorginho 6.5
Vulnerable in transitions but did well early on when Arsenal had control over the game.
Bukayo Saka 8.5
Involved with three of Arsenal's goals. His corner was converted by Gabriel, before providing Trossard a tap-in – and scoring a penalty. Top-class display.
Kai Havertz 7
Provided the focal point up front and reverted to a midfield role later in the match. Took his one-vs-one opportunity well against Fabianski to score.
Leandro Trossard 7
Scored a tap-in and got an assist, too. Some nice mazy runs out wide. Good overall display.
Manager: Mikel Arteta7
Followed up Arsenal's 5-1 thrashing with another big scoreline. Two top-classes perforamances in a row.