Arsenal 2 – 0 West Ham

Arsenal moved into the top four for the first time this season as goals from young stars Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe gave them a 2-0 win over 10-man West Ham.

Arsenal, captained by Alexandre Lacazette again, had more clear-cut chances in the first half; Kieran Tierney saw his long-range effort tipped onto the bar by Lukasz Fabianski, while Gabriel Martinelli nearly turned home ahead of the West Ham goalkeeper from a rebound.

But Martinelli made up for that miss minutes after the restart, finishing coolly past Fabianski from a threaded Lacazette through ball (48), before drama with 20 minutes remaining as Vladimir Coufal saw red for a second yellow, fouling Lacazette in the box (69). Anthony Taylor controversially awarded the penalty, which Lacazette took, but Fabianski saved.

Sub Emile Smith Rowe made sure of the victory late on, slotting bottom right after a fine break (87) after being fed by the brilliant Bukayo Saka, a goal made in the Arsenal academy.

The result continues Arsenal’s fine home form – they’ve won eight of their last nine in all competitions at the Emirates – and moves them into the Champions League spots for the first time this season. They replaced West Ham in the top four, with the Hammers winning just one of their last six in the Premier League.

Full report to follow…

What’s next?

Saturday 18th December 5:00pm


Kick off 5:30pm

Arsenal travel to Leeds on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League; kick-off 5.30pm. Meanwhile, West Ham host Norwich, also on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.