A narrow win over the Hammers keeps Arsenal in the fourth spot.
Arsenal defeated West Ham 2-1 in their Premier League game on Sunday. The Gunners clinched another huge victory in the top-four race, thanks to a solid second-half performance.
Gabriel with a match-winner!
Arsenal dominated the game early on while West Ham did their best to prevent the Gunners from scoring the opener. They were successful for a good chunk of the first half, but Rob Holding finally broke the deadlock in the 38th minute.
Following a corner from Bukayo Saka, Holding outmuscled Lanzini to smash a powerful header behind Lukasz Fabianski.
The Hammers started their efforts to get back into the game almost immediately. They managed to snatch the equalizer through Jarrod Bowen just before the interval.
Arsenal found a brilliant start to the second half as they increased the pressure on Wes Ham’s backline right from the start. After a few half-chances, the Gunners managed to complete their comeback in the 54th minute.
A poorly-cleared corner from Saka saw Gabriel Martinelli send an inch-perfect cross, which found Gabriel at the far post. The Brazilian star converted the chance with a diving header from close range as Arsenal went 2-1 ahead.
West Ham had a few chances to equalize the game, but they came at the expense of giving away several opportunities to the Gunners. In the end, however, none of the two teams managed to score more goals.
What’s next for Arsenal?
Arsenal remain in the fourth place on the Premier League table as Tottenham fail to leapfrog them with their victory over Leicester City.
Next week, the Gunners will face Leeds United while Tottenham meet Liverpool. Let’s see if Mikel Arteta’s men can hold on to their top-four spot until the end of the campaign.
Player Ratings
West Ham: Fabianski (7); Coufal (6), Zouma (5), Cresswell (5), Fredericks (6); Rice (7), Noble (6); Fornals (6), Lanzini (7), Benrahma (5); Bowen (7).
Bench: Yarmolenko (6), Antonio (5), Soucek (6).
Arsenal: Ramsdale (6); Tomiyasu (6), Holding (9), Gabriel (7), Tavares (6); Elneny (6), Xhaka (7); Saka (8), Odegaard (6), Martinelli (8); Nketiah (7).
Bench: Smith Rowe (6), Soares (5), Lokonga (6).
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