Arsenal dominate West Ham: Five things we learned | OneFootball

Arsenal beat West Ham 5-2 and have now scored 11 goals in their last two visits to the London Stadium. Here’s five things we learned.

Arsenal’s set piece dominance continues

Another game, another goal from a corner for Arsenal. This time it was Gabriel who headed home in the 10th minute. The West Ham defending, however, left a lot to be desired. Arsenal have made their set-piece expertise count in a lot of games this season, but being able to do it against a team as physically imposing as West Ham is even more impressive.

The Saka-Odegaard link-up is unstoppable

In recent times, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard have bounced off each other almost in a telepathic manner. For their second goal, the Arsenal duo were once again at the heart of play, before Leandro Trossard finished the chance. When Saka and Odegaard are in this sort of form, they are almost impossible to stop.

West Ham rallied before half-time

It was 4-0 before the 40th minute and hundreds of fans started to leave, but the Hammers didn’t give up. They got two back before half-time, and almost set up a brilliant second half. But Łukasz Fabiański conceded a penalty, also before the half-time whistle, which Saka converted. It was 5-2 at this point. Fair to say it was a busy first half.

Arsenal will need to carefully manage their injuries over the busy festive period

The Gunners have suffered with injuries this season and must be careful over the next four weeks. Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori had to go off tonight, and Saka took a blow that looked like it might have forced him off, but he battled through. With the games coming thick and fast over the coming weeks, Mikel Arteta will need to rotate his squad more than usual.

Arsenal aren’t going to give up in the title race

The last week has proved that Arsenal will fight till the bitter end. They may be six points behind Liverpool, with the Reds also having a game in hand, but Arteta’s men are going to stay in the race come what may. They face Manchester United next, a game that will be a huge test for both sides.