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Jarrod Bowen’s header just before half-time saw Arsenal fall to defeat against West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, missing out on the chance to put pressure on league leaders Liverpool.
The visiting captain nodded the ball past David Raya towards the end of a quiet first half to secure his side back-to-back wins at Arsenal’s home ground for the first time since 2007. The task became harder for Arsenal when Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity on 72 minutes.
Despite some late pressure, the Hammers held on to end Arsenal’s 15-match unbeaten league run, and the gap at the top remains at eight points with the Reds in action tomorrow, fully aware of the possibility of opening an eleven-point gap lead should they win at the Etihad.
The opening half was incredibly light on goalmouth action as both teams struggled to impose themselves on the game. Arsenal’s first sight of goal took 21 minutes to arrive, and it would be as good as it got in the opening 45 as Riccardo Calafiori forced Alphonse Areola to dirty his gloves with a blast from the edge of the box.
The visitors then squandered a good opening when Aaron Wan-Bissaka pushed down the right and fed a pass into a well-placed Bowen, but the visitors’ talisman screwed a shot intended for the bottom corner horribly wide.
But a couple of minutes before half-time, Bowen made amends as Arsenal fell behind. The England international picked up possession inside his own half and again fed Wan-Bissaka on the right. The full-back was allowed to edge closer and closer to Arsenal’s area, and he sent in a cross which Bowen sent past David Raya with a diving header to hand the visitors the advantage at the break.
Having won at Emirates Stadium last season, the Hammers had put themselves in a great position to replicate that feat, and frustratingly, the opening 15 minutes of the second half followed in the same fashion as the first.
However, on 62 minutes, Leandro Trossard cut inside and forced Areola to make a good stop with his feet. But with 20 minutes to go, Arsenal’s task of getting anything out of the game became harder when they were reduced to 10 men.
Lewis-Skelly was caught in possession on the halfway line by Mohammed Kudus and pulled the attacker down, and after initially issuing a yellow card, Craig Pawson was sent to the monitor by the VAR and upgraded his decision after spotting that the teenager was the last defender and Raya was well out of his goal.
Despite having to play with a numerical disadvantage, West Ham allowed Arsenal to keep possession as they attempted to soak up the pressure and protect their lead, but chances remained at a premium.
One good chance did come Arsenal’s way with seven minutes to go when they won a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Raheem Sterling saw blocked by the wall, and Martin Odegaard fed the rebound into the path of Gabriel, but he looped his shot well over the crossbar.
Just before eight minutes of stoppage-time was displayed, Thomas Partey won a crucial tackle, and the ball fell kindly for Trossard to hit, but his strike whistled over the top.
One bright spot was the return to action of Ben White, who was introduced with five minutes to go, and with the clock ticking down, he let fly inside the box, but the ball whistled just wide, denying him a fairytale return and ending Arsenal’s hopes of avoiding defeat.
Arsenal are back in Premier League action against high-flying Nottingham Forest on Wednesday when they head to the City Ground, and then six days later, they change gears to the Champions League as they head to Eindhoven for the last 16 first leg against PSV.
