Arsenal vs West Ham LIVE: Premier League result as Gunners dealt huge blow in title race
Arsenal 0-1 West Ham: Jarrod Bowen’s goal before half time means the Gunners miss the chance to cut Liverpool’s lead in the title race
Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge suffered a huge blow as West Ham inflicted Mikel Arteta’s side their first home defeat of the season with a shock 1-0 victory at the Emirates.
Jarrod Bowen’s dividing header on the stroke of half-time secured West Ham a second consecutive away victory over the Gunners, with Arsenal struggling to create any meaningful chances in the absence of injured forwards Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Makeshift striker Mikel Merino was unable to repeat the impact of his decisive double at Leicester last weekend, with Bowen instead pouncing on the counter-attack to head in Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross in front of a stunned Emirates crowd.
Arsenal were blunt ahead the break and they faced an uphill task to avoid defeat when Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity. The left back dragged Mohammed Kudus down on the halfway line as the forward was through on goal.
It means Arsenal miss the opportunity to cut Liverpool’s lead in the title race, and the Reds remain eight points clear ahead of their trip to Manchester City tomorrow. Arsenal visit Nottingham Forest in midweek, with Liverpool hosting Newcastle.
The match is not on TV in the UK but you can follow all the updates with our live blog below:
Furious Mikel Arteta accuses Arsenal of dropping standards in West Ham defeat
A furious Mikel Arteta said Arsenal's bid to win the Premier League title is now out of their hands after accusing his players of failing to hit the levels required in their crushing 1-0 defeat against West Ham at the Emirates.
Jarrod Bowen scored the only goal of the game before Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off with 18 minutes remaining to leave the Gunners eight points behind Liverpool with 12 matches remaining.
Arne Slot's side could end the weekend 11 points clear if they beat Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
And speaking about Arsenal's bid to end their 21-year wait for the title, Arteta conceded: "It's not in our hands.
"I am really, really annoyed with the things that are in our hands - which is the performance and the result - and we didn't do that as well as we possibly could.
Furious Mikel Arteta accuses Arsenal of dropping standards in West Ham defeat
Arsenal ‘deserve’ to feel pain as West Ham deal huge title race blow
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal “deserve” to feel the “pain” of their defeat to West Ham United as the Gunners suffered a huge blow to their Premier League title hopes.
Jarrod Bowen’s goal on the stroke of half-time was followed by Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card in the second half as Arsenal landed just two shots on target in the 1-0 defeat.
The Gunners lacked creativity and threat with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli still unavailable due to injury and Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus out for the season. Makeshift forward Mikel Merino was unable to replicate his impact in last week’s 2-0 win at Leicester and it leaves Arsenal eight points behind leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal ‘deserve’ to feel pain as West Ham deal huge title race blow
'Arsenal deserve to feel pain' after West Ham defeat
Mikel Arteta on his side’s defeat to West Ham: “Today we weren't at the level required to be convincingly better than the opponent. It is painful. We need to feel the pain today, we deserve it.
"We never got a grip of the game because we're so inconsistent with the ball. We give so many balls away. We never get enough positive sequence of actions, one after the other, that could generate threat and momentum in the areas we want to conquer. That allowed the game to be the flick of a coin.
"We allowed them to run with simple giveaways. They are a dangerous team. They have the quality to deliver the moment. After that is becomes a difficult game. Then we get the red card and it's a big mountain to climb. We try to react but we didn't have specific quality moments."
'There is a long way to go', says Odegaard
Martin Odegaard is refusing to rule Arsenal out of the title race.
"It's no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We're going to be ready to strike back and make sure we do better. We lost today and we're disappointed but there is a long way to go."
Arsenal’s title challenge in tatters as West Ham claim away win
Ten-man Arsenal’s Premier League title bid was dealt a major blow after they suffered a torrid 1-0 defeat against West Ham at the Emirates.
Jarrod Bowen scored what would prove to be the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time before Gunners substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off with 18 minutes remaining.
Even prior to Lewis-Skelly’s dismissal – upgraded from a yellow card following a VAR intervention after the teenager denied Mohammed Kudus a clear scoring opportunity – Arsenal’s failure to sign a striker during last month’s transfer window had been brutally exposed.
Arsenal’s title challenge in tatters as West Ham claim away win
Premier League results today
A day for the away teams in the Premier League
Everton 2-2 Manchester United
Bournemouth 0-1 Wolves
Arsenal 0-1 West Ham
Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace
Ipswich 1-4 Tottenham
Southampton 0-4 Brighton
Why was Myles Lewis-Skelly sent off for Arsenal?
The teenager dragged back Mohammed Kudus after losing the ball. Kudus was a long way from goal but David Raya was off his line and Arsenal had no other defenders back. A statement from the Premier League said:
“VAR checked the referee’s call of yellow card to Lewis-Skelly for a challenge on Kudus – deeming it denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity due to the goalkeeper’s position and there being no covering defender, therefore recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
FULL TIME! Arsenal 0-1 West Ham
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard says injuries are not an excuse as he said their performance at home to West Ham was “not good enough”.
He tells the BBC: "Big blow. The performance today wasn't good enough. Really disappointed. We lacked a bit in final third efficiency. We have to see the game back and analyse it but it wasn't good enough.
“We have players missing but we have players here who are good enough and available so we have to focus on that. It wasn't good enough in front of the goal. With the red card, it was tricky as well.”
Title race picture
Liverpool
Points: 61 (played 26)
Points per game (PPG): 2.35
Remaining opponents’ PPG: 1.37
Next game: Man City (A)
Arsenal
Points: 53 (played 26)
Points per game (PPG): 2.03
Remaining opponents’ PPG: 1.38
Next game: Forest (A)
FULL TIME! Arsenal 0-1 West Ham
Just two shots on target for Arsenal. Merino’s double secured a late win at Leicester last weekend but the forward absences really hurt Arsenal today. With no Saka, Martinelli, Havertz and Jesus, Arsenal ran out of ideas and did not look like scoring.
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