In his 300th game in charge, Mikel Arteta steered Arsenal to a confident 2-0 home win over West Ham United, a victory that not only pushed the Gunners to the top of the Premier League but also came tinged with fresh concerns over injuries to key midfielders.
At the Emirates Stadium, the hosts asserted themselves with purpose, capitalising on moments of vulnerability in the visiting side, while maintaining control across large passages of the game.
Declan Rice, in poetic irony, scored against his former club, and Bukayo Saka sealed matters from the spot — yet the glow of success was slightly dimmed by the exits of both Rice and captain Martin Ødegaard.
The match got off to a relatively steady start, with West Ham looking to settle under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo’s stewardship. Arsenal, though missing a number of regular starters, sought to impose tempo and positional fluidity in midfield. The early exchanges largely saw both teams probe, but it was clear that the home side intended to win the midfield battle and suffocate the Hammers’ transitions.
That plan gained traction just after the half-hour mark when disaster struck Arsenal’s hopes of fielding their full preferred lineup. Ødegaard, already carrying knocks from earlier in the season, collided knee-to-knee with Crysencio Summerville and immediately signalled distress.
Despite an attempt to continue, he was eventually withdrawn and replaced by Martín Zubimendi. News following the game suggested the injury was serious enough to warrant concern, and Arteta admitted he was “not positive” about Ødegaard’s condition.
Rather than allowing that blow to destabilize them, Arsenal responded positively. The tactical reshuffle did not hinder their momentum. If anything, Zubimendi’s influence and Eberechi Eze’s forward thinking began to unlock spaces for the Gunners.
A defining moment came just before halftime: Eze teed up a shot that was initially parried by West Ham’s goalkeeper, but the rebound fell kindly to Rice, who made no mistake in dispatching it into the net. The sight of Rice celebrating — albeit briefly and without excessive revelry — drew audible reaction from both sets of fans, especially given his past at the Hammers.
West Ham mostly weathered the rest of the first half, but with Arsenal continuing to dominate possession and press high, their chances of leaking another were growing. The second half unfolded more definitively in the Gunners’ favour. West Ham, under pressure, struggled to retain the ball with composure, and the gaps began to appear, especially down the flanks.
As Arsenal probed, they came close to doubling their lead several times — one ricochet off the post from Riccardo Calafiori’s low effort narrowly missed the mark.
Then came a turning point: a challenge by West Ham’s left full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf on Jurrien Timber was judged by referee John Brooks to be inside the box. Saka stepped up confidently and tucked the penalty away, putting the contest beyond doubt in the 67th minute.
That goal marked yet another landmark for the intuitive winger: in his 200th Premier League game, he became only the second Arsenal player, after Thierry Henry, to score in that milestone match.
While Arsenal continued to press, West Ham did attempt a respond, but their efforts lacked conviction. In the closing stages, Rice himself requested to be substituted due to back discomfort, further compounding Arteta’s concerns.
Even with two key exits, the Gunners’ control over the match never truly wavered. West Ham failed to register a shot on target for much of the afternoon, a testament to Arsenal’s dominance in both structure and execution.
From the standpoint of individual performances, Rice’s goal and midfield contribution stood out before his enforced departure. Saka was a constant threat, his movement, work rate, and finishing making the difference on an otherwise sober afternoon. Zubimendi, stepping into the breach for Ødegaard, showed maturity and tactical intelligence, helping to maintain fluidity in Arsenal’s transitions.
On the West Ham side, Konstantinos Mavropanos did his best to stifle Gyokeres in aerial duels and defensive matchups, while goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made a few crucial saves to keep the scoreline somewhat respectable. Yet Diouf’s error in the box and West Ham’s inability to string passes deeper in the field betrayed limitations that the Gunners exploited ruthlessly.