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West Ham have now lost three consecutive games in all competitions as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Arsenal.
Neither side were flourishing in front of goal in the opening half-hour but Rob Holding was able to head the Gunners in front from a corner, only for Jarrod Bowen to equalise on the stroke of halftime for the hosts.
Arsenal then regained the lead early in the second half, when Gabriel headed in unmarked at the back post and past Lukasz Fabianski.
Such a result means the hosts are now winless in three games in all competitions, whereas the travelling side have now made it three wins in a row as they go back into fourth place in the Premier League.
Slow game soon brought to life
West Ham would have been keen to put their midweek Europa League defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt behind them, and they started the game the brighter side as they enjoyed the majority of possession.
Pablo Fornals was very close to sending Bowen through in the box in the third minute, but his ball failed to reach his teammate. Said Benrahma did well to get past Takehiro Tomiyasu on the left, but his low cross into the area was met by the Gunners’ defence.
David Moyes’ side remained dominant as the game progressed, with Mikel Arteta’s men struggling to get out of their own half at times.
Martin Odegaard was soon able to generate some sort of chance for Arsenal as he worked his way towards the edge of the area, but Declan Rice was on hand to prevent him from shooting with a well-timed challenge.
Soon the Gunners were on top of proceedings in east London but Kurt Zouma was able to have another chance for the hosts, only for him to see his header blocked by an opposition defender.
Both Fornals and Manuel Lanzini had chances to punish Arsenal, but their efforts were not good enough to breach their opponent’s defence. Captain Mark Noble, who featured in his last ever London derby for West Ham, was then on hand to deny Arsenal on the edge of the box, similar to Rice’s earlier challenge.
The latter then went on a surging run at the other end of the pitch, only for the 23-year-old to hit his effort straight at Aaron Ramsdale. Eddie Nketiah, who tested the West Ham defence all afternoon, saw his first shot of the game tipped behind by Fabianski.
From the corner, Arsenal took the lead. Holding was able to rise highest in the box from Bukayo Saka’s delivery and head it into the back of the net. Ramsdale then had to pull off a superb save just moments later as West Ham looked for a response, nodding a header from an in-swinging cross behind.
However, he was unable to do much to prevent West Ham’s equaliser just before the break. Vladimir Coufal was able to find Bowen inside the area, with the latter firing in on the half volley to score his 16th goal of the season. It was a deserved goal for all of their chances in the first half.
Gabriel nets crucial winner for Gunners
It was the hosts who had the opening chance of the second half as Benrahma was able to get onto the backend of a low ball, but Holding was there to block his effort. Bowen was then fed through on goal, and Ramsdale came out to challenge for the ball with the West Ham man going down. The home fans called for a red card for the Gunners ‘keeper, but referee Mike Dean booked Bowen for simulation.
Once again, Fabianski was required to deny Nketiah and he forced another Arsenal corner, and the visitors then took advantage once again as they scored their second of the day.
Gabriel Martinelli recycled the ball back into the box from the set-piece, and Gabriel was able to head in completely unmarked, despite Fabianski’s best efforts to keep it out.
The Brazilian winger who provided the goal was keen to get onto the scoresheet himself, but he couldn’t guide a long-range effort on target. Nketiah tested the Hammers defence moments later, only for the 22-year-old to fail to find the back of the net once again.
As time went on, West Ham were really struggling to find any way back into the game, failing to make the most of their limited chances. Nketiah had an opportunity to make it 3-1 at the other end after Bowen mistakenly played him through, but Fabianski made yet another save.
Arsenal looked comfortable and were happy to just play the game out, with West Ham’s attacking substitutes of Michail Antonio and Andriy Yarmolenko both failing to make an impact as they searched for another equaliser.
Full time soon came for the Gunners, and they had picked up yet another crucial win in their race for Champions League football next season. On the other hand, the Hammers had to succumb to a third consecutive loss in all competitions.
They will now travel to Germany for their Europa League second leg tie against Frankfurt on Thursday night, with Arsenal next hosting Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.
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