Arsenal thump West Ham with five-star show to go second

Resurgent Arsenal romped to a 5-2 victory at capital rivals West Ham United in Saturday's Premier League derby with all seven goals coming in a mind-boggling first half in the evening kickoff at the London Stadium.

Gabriel's trademark ninth-minute header opened the floodgates and Arsenal ran riot with Leandro Trossard tapping in after 26 minutes before Martin Odegaard's penalty and Kai Havertz's cool finish in the space of a minute sent some home fans heading for the exits.

The Gunners overtake Brighton and Man City to move into second on the table ⚫🔥 #SSPremierLeague | #WHUARS pic.twitter.com/mRk4G7dghj

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) November 30, 2024

Incredibly, West Ham responded almost immediately with Aaron Wan-Bissaka sliding home before a stunning free kick by Emerson offered hope of an unlikely comeback.

But Arsenal were awarded a second penalty of the game in first-half stoppage and this time Bukayo Saka stepped up to dispatch his spot kick past Lukasz Fabianski.

By comparison the second half was something of an anti-climax as Arsenal cruised to the win that moved them up to second in the table with 25 points, six behind leaders Liverpool who host struggling champions Manchester City on Sunday.