[West Ham Utd 2-5 Arsenal](news_archive.php)
--------------------------------------------
For only the fourth time since the Premier League began, seven goals were scored in the opening half of a fixture at the London Olympic Stadium this afternoon.
Unfortunately for the under-pressure Julen Lopetegui and his equally underperforming players, FIVE of those were at West Ham's end as the visitors scored five times in 40 minutes - albeit with major assistance from match official Anthony Taylor. The errant official failed to spot a push on Lucas Paqueta that should've been enough to require a lengthy VAR check, at the very least, while both penalties subsequently awarded in favour of Arsenal by Taylor were questionable, at best. The first of those incidents led to the game's opening goal; an Arsenal corner would almost certainly have been dealt with by Paqueta at the near post before he was shoved in the back, impeding his jump; an untracked Gabriel arriving behind him, in what appeared to be a heavily-rehearsed training ground move was uncontested as he nodded the visitors ahead. West Ham - who did have the ball in the net following a sublime chip by Crysencio Summerville, before he was flagged offside - managed to see out the next 17 minutes without conceding or threatening Arsenal's goal at any stage. And the second Gunners goal duly arrived through Trossard, before ringmaster Mikel's fraudulent tribe of tricksters and con artists added a third from the penalty spot seven minutes later. Gunners skipper Odegaard narrowly outwitted former Arsenal 'keeper Lukasz Fabianski from 12 yards, after Bukayo Saka had hit the deck in the wake of a lazy penalty area-challenge from Paqueta - so lazy that he didn't even catch the England international - in order to win a spot kick. With many watching Hammers fans already viewing the match through partially closed hands, a fourth goal arrived just two minutes after the spot kick as Kai Havertz took advantage of more sloppy defending as a long ball over the top caught everyone bar Max Kilman out - the centre half adding to the farce by slipping as he attempted to intercept the ball. Havertz, granted the freedom of Stratford took the ball down before driving on and finding the net, as a beleaguered Fabianski - wondering quite where his defence had all disappeared to - looked on. With the game already lost West Ham decided to start playing football and right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his second goal in consecutive games after latching on to a sublime through ball from Carlos Soler. For the record, it also happened to be his first ever Premier League goal scored at a home ground. United then did the unthinkable by adding a second as a crazy first half grew ever more unlikely. Having won a free kick on the perimeter of the penalty box 'D', Emerson reduced arrears to 4-2 as he fired home a magnificent free kick via the underside of Arsenal's crossbar. Yet Arsenal's Man of the Match, Anthony Taylor was on hand again to extend the deficit when he awarded the visitors a second penalty in the FIFTH minute of added-on time after Fabianski was adjudged to have fouled Gabriel, who he caught with his fist as both climbed to meet a corner. The Arsenal man won that particular battle but could only direct his header over the bar, yet he made Taylor fully aware that he had been caught by the Pole in the kind of challenge you will have witnessed hundreds of times over the years without ever seeing a penalty awarded. Saka, having apparent sufficiently recovered from the challenge by Paqueta that had left him writhing in agony some 16 minutes earlier stepped up to score what would prove the seventh and final goal of a bizarre match. While many will justifiably and with good reason point to Taylor siding with Arsenal on all the game's big decisions as a key factor in the final score, it should not be forgotten quite how diabolical this performance from Lopetegui's expensively-assembled squad was. Conceding five goals in recent times is, of course, nothing new; in the last calendar year alone Fulham, Manchester City, Arsenal (x2), Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Liverpool have all hit the net on five occasions or more against the hapless Hammers. But only once has it happened in Stratford - that being against the same opponent as today, back in February - and NEVER in one half during the Premier League era in either Stratford or Upton Park. Such was the scale of West Ham's insipid capitulation today. The defeat leaves West Ham 14th in the Premier League standings with 15 points form 13 games - that's five points below the European spots and six above the relegation zone.
West Ham Utd: Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson (Coufal 65), Soler (Irving 78), Soucek, Paqueta (RodrÃguez 78), Summerville (Alvarez 46), Bowen, Antonio (Ings 65)
Subs not used: Areola, Mayers, Scarles, Guilherme
Goals: Wan-Bissaka (38), Emerson (40)
Booked: Emerson, Summerville, Fabianski, Soucek
Arsenal: Raya, Saliba, Magalhaes (Kiwior 46), Timber, Calafiori (Zinchenko 56), Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard (Jesus 74), Trossard (Nwaneri 84), Saka (Sterling 74), Havertz, Taylor
Subs not used: Neto, Tierney, Nichols, Martinell
Goals: Magalhaes (10), Trossard (27), Odegaard (pen 34), Havertz (36), Saka (pen 45+5)
Booked: Saka
Possession: WHUFC 40%-60% AFC
Shots/on target: WHUFC 12/5-16/7 AFC
xG: WHUFC 1.24-4.00 AFC
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Tickets sold: 62,475
_\* Something to say about this story? Please [visit the KUMB Forum](forum/viewforum.php?f=2) to leave a comment._