West Ham took the lead early in the second half, but a brace from Theo Walcott and an additional goal from Lukas Podolski gave the visitors a 3-1 victory. Arsenal are now in sole possession of first place, although that might change after Liverpool travel to Manchester City for the final match of the day.
Arsène Wenger made just one change to the side that played out a goalless draw with Chelsea on Monday, and Sam Allardyce’s West Ham took advantage in the first half, rarely allowing the visiting Arsenal the opportunity to get a good look in on goal. At the break, it was scoreless in East London.
The second half brought much more excitement, with West Ham scoring just a minute after the restart. Theo Walcott, flying up the flank, misjudged his pass, allowing West Ham to pounce. It was Kevin Nolan who put in the shot and, although Wojciech Szczęsny was able to save, the Arsenal goalkeeper couldn’t keep hold of the ball. Cole had an easy time mopping up the spill, nudging in from close range.
West Ham weren’t eager to sit back and soak up the Gunners’ pressure, either. Minutes later, Szczęsny spilled another shot, this one from Matthew Jarvis. Arsenal were lucky however in that the Irons had no one following up to double the hosts’ lead.
On the other end, West Ham keeper Adrian did an excellent job of keeping out Santi Cazorla, only to turn right around to knock away a shot from Mesut Özil.
Yet, despite his brilliance, Adrian couldn’t manage to save a low shot from Walcott. The ball came through the legs of McCartney and James Tompkins, likely thinking his keeper would rescue the ball, didn’t follow up. Walcott’s strike eluded Adrian to land in the back of the net.
And things just got worse for West Ham, with Walcott getting his second less than five minutes after Arsenal’s equalizer. Lukas Podolski, whose introduction for Aaron Ramsey in the 65th minute considerably livened up the visitors, sent in a cross from the left. A West Ham defender got a touch to it, but failed to stop Walcott from heading in at close range.
It was all Arsenal after that, and the visitors made it abundantly clear when Podolski himself scored the third. A poke from Olivier Giroud, closely hounded by West Ham defenders, held up play to set Podolski up perfectly. The German struck hard and his low shot settled into the bottom right corner.
West Ham United: Adrian, O’Brien (Demel 63), Tomkins, Collins (Rat 38), McCartney, Jarvis, Nolan (Taylor 75), J Cole, Noble, Diame, C Cole
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey (Podolski 65), Cazorla, Ozil (Flamini 81), Walcott, Giroud (Bendtner 85)