LONDON — Arsenal battered West Ham 6-0 at London Stadium on Sunday to underline their title credentials.
This was Arsenal’s biggest-ever away win in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side scored four goals in a 15th-minute first half blitz as William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel and Leandro Trossard were all on the scoresheet. In the second half Saka then added his second and Arsenal’s fifth before Declan Rice brilliant smashed home a sixth and then didn’t celebrate.
West Ham were second-best throughout and boos rang around the London Stadium throughout (not just for Rice) as the pressure was piled on David Moyes.
With the win Arsenal move on to 52 points, two points off leaders Liverpool, and they’ve improved their goal difference significantly with four-straight wins as they’ve outscored their opponents 16-2 in that run.
West Ham have now gone seven games without a win in all competitions and suffered two heavy defeats on the bounce to Manchester United and Arsenal as the Hammers remain on 36 points as their confidence took a big hit as a huge portion of their fans left at half time.
Set-piece dominance helping Arsenal close the gap
If Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover has a ‘goals from set piece bonus’ in his contract he’s going to be a very wealthy man by the end of this season. Arsenal scored their 15th and 16th goals from set pieces (excluding penalties) against West Ham and they lead the Premier League in an increasingly important area. Arsenal are closing the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City, established title challengers, by being better than anybody else at the small things. Arsenal scored from a well-worked corner and free kick in the first half and they’d been trying the former several times before it came off. They highlight weaknesses in opponents and pummel it. And it’s working. Big time. Having giants like Gabriel and Saliba attacking the ball helps too but this is more about precision than power. Arsenal are maximizing every area of their game from signing David Raya to help with build-up from the back, bringing in Declan Rice for extra midfield solidity, using Trossard and Havertz as false 9’s to bamboozle defenses, having inverted full backs to keep the ball and trying new things from set-pieces. All of it is working superbly but their set-piece conversion is giving them an extra edge over their title rivals. Also, Declan Rice scoring a beauty and grabbing two assists on his first start back at West Ham summed up how important he is and how much he’s helped the Gunners improve this season.
West Ham vs Arsenal player ratings
There were so many stellar performances from Arsenal and via our friends at FotMob.com you can see Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka all had incredible displays.
What’s next?
West Ham head to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Feb. 17, Arsenal head to Burnley on the same day.
How to watch West Ham vs Arsenal, live stream link, start time
Kickoff: 9am ET Sunday
TV Channel: USA Network
Stream: Online via NBC.com
West Ham vs Arsenal live updates! - By Joe Prince-Wright at London Stadium
West Ham vs Arsenal score: 0-6
Saliba 32', Saka 41', Gabriel 44', Trossard 47', Saka 63', Rice 65'
Full time: West Ham 0-6 Arsenal
The scoreline actually flatters West Ham. Arsenal were so good from start to finish and should have scored a few more. Rice, Odegaard and Saka ripped West Ham to shreds and the hosts had no answer.
Rice curls home a stunner - West Ham 0-6 Arsenal (65th minute)
Oh, that is special. Declan Rice curls home from distance and doesn’t celebrate. He is then subbed off and gets a nice ovation from the home fans and he claps them back.
Saka makes it five with a fine finish - West Ham 0-5 Arsenal (63rd minute)
Odegaard tees up Saka and he cuts inside and finishes at the near post. Clinical. Ruthless.
Lots of empty seats here
Very little to report here. Arsenal are creating chances galore and West Ham are in damage limitation mode. A lot of Hammers fans haven’t taken their seats in the second half and thousands were seen leaving at half time. I’d estimate about 20 percent of the home fans have left.
Half time: West Ham 0-4 Arsenal
Arsenal scored four in 15 minutes before the break but it could have been seven or eight in the first half. Aside from a five minute spell they’ve been so dominant. Their fluid movement has dragged West Ham all over the place.
4-0 to Arsenal. This is unbelievable! Trossard curls home - West Ham 0-4 Arsenal (47th minute)
Wow. They’ve scored four goals in 15 minutes. Trossard is played in on the edge of the box by Odegaard and he curls home superbly. Gunners are rampant. West Ham’s fans are leaving the stadium en masse. They’ve seen enough.
It’s 3-0 to Arsenal! Gabriel heads home - West Ham 0-3 Arsenal (44th minute)
Declan Rice’s free kick to the near post is headed home by Gabriel. Arsenal score yet another set-piece goal. Their 16th of the season which is the most in the Premier League. Devastatingly simple.
It’s 2-0 to Arsenal as Saka slots home a penalty kick - West Ham 0-2 Arsenal (41st minute)
Saka is in over the top and goes around Areola who clips him. Yellow for the West Ham goalkeeper. Penalty to Arsenal. Saka slots it home calmly to get rid of those demons from his penalty miss here last season. Arsenal cruising.
Saliba heads home and the Gunners lead - West Ham 0-1 Arsenal (32nd minute)
William Saliba heads home Declan Rice’s corner at the back post. Areola totally caught out and Arsenal had been whipping corners to the back post all game long. That goal was coming and as it stands Arsenal have cut Liverpool’s lead at the top to two points.
Two great chances for Trossard
Arsenal go close twice through Leandro Trossard. First Saka’s cross finds him unmarked six yards out but he heads over a great chance. Then Martinelli clips in a cross which Trossard hammers at goal but Areola tips it over. Better from Arsenal. Trossard should have really buried that first chance.
Sustained spell of pressure for West Ham
Ben Johnson does really well to charge down the left and his cross towards Kudus is cleared by Kiwior. Much better from the hosts over the last five minutes or so. West Ham have won the ball back in midfield on multiple occasions and Arsenal have started to give it away cheapily.
Arsenal dragging West Ham all over the place
Looks like Arsenal are playing a 4-1-4-1 formation with Havertz starting up top centrally but dropping deep for Trossard to push into the space. West Ham’s center backs very reluctant to push high. As expected, Arsenal seeing a lot of the ball. As expected, Declan Rice getting a lot of boos from the home fans too. A few of the Hammers faithful are applauding him too.
Hello and welcome to east London for a big London derby! The Hammers have beaten Arsenal twice this season in the league and cup and this will be an intriguing clash. In team news West Ham have gone for a slightly more defensive lineup but Kudus starts out wide in support of Bowen. Arsenal have a few injury problems with Jesus and Zinchenko out, so Kiwior and Trossard come in.
👋 Hello and welcome to east London! This is going to be a beauty.
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 11, 2024
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My thoughts ahead of West Ham v Arsenal ⤵️ #WHUFC #AFC #WHUARS pic.twitter.com/AsSr3pHnWr
West Ham lineup
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Johnson, Ward-Prowse, Kudus; Bowen
Arsenal lineup
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Martinelli; Havertz
West Ham team news, injuries
QUESTIONABLE: Alphonse Areola (head), Lucas Paqueta (calf), Michail Antonio (knee)
Arsenal team news, injuries
OUT: Jurrien Timber (torn ACL - out for season), Thomas Partey (thigh), Fabio Vieira (groin), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Gabriel Jesus (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (international duty)