West Ham 2-2 Arsenal as the gunners are on the verge of losing their Premier League title challenge, after allowing a two-goal lead to slip for the second game in a row, drawing at West Ham United.
A month ago, the Gunners appeared to be an unbeatable force, quickly earning the moniker “comeback kings.” Now consider the inverse: when the pressure mounts and the margin for error narrows, these players begin like a house on fire and finish up hosed down.
West Ham 2-2 Arsenal highlights
Mikel Arteta faced his old Everton manager David Moyes, with the Arsenal manager trying to re-establish a six-point lead over another of his teachers, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.
The cross-capital trip should have been a simple one for Arsenal, with the Irons in the thick of a relegation battle and with a horrendous record in this fixture. But it wasn’t — at least, not for the last 60 minutes.
The second was equally simple for the league’s top teams. From the left, Gabriel Martinelli again tried his luck, swinging a cross towards a charging Martin Odegaard at the back post. He slipped right by Lukasz Fabianski on the first try. Martinelli, who has excelled in the race for the crown, contributed ten goals in nine games.
Arteta’s boys didn’t need to get out of second gear for the next 20 minutes. They could pick and choose when to slightly raise the tempo, but it was pure domination of the ball. Partey in particular was in control, positionally excellent and picking his passes perfectly. Everything was going through him, before eventually arriving at the likes of Martinelli or Odegaard, who were purring and bringing out the party pieces.
It was hard to believe that this was basically the same team that made such an impression last season on its way to a seventh-place finish and a journey to the Europa League semifinals, as it has during much of this season. Declan Rice, the team’s captain and Mr. Reliable, was made to appear average on a day when he would have been expecting to impress his rumored summer suitors.
Then, a shift in mood from nowhere to breathe life into the East London faithful. Partey had a rare lapse as he was dispossessed by Rice, who played it to Lucas Paqueta in the box. Compatriot Gabriel, who until that point had snuffed out every attack, went in for a sliding challenge but tried to pull out — however, his knees still took out the playmaker and a penalty was awarded. Said Benrahma, who also scored from the spot at Emirates Stadium in December, made no mistake.
With some sustained pressure and a noticeable uptick in aggression, the Irons emerged from the first half as the superior team. At the halfway point, Kurt Zouma, who had been pushed back for the whole of the first half, was abruptly forcing Martinelli and Jesus back. Kieran Tierney, who replaced the hurt Oleksandr Zinchenko, was accountable for often losing possession.
Four minutes into the second half, Arsenal were gifted a chance to restore their two-goal advantage, with Michail Antonio being called for handball on a shot from Martinelli — slightly harsh, given how close he was to the effort.
Saka couldn’t capitalise, though. The England international blazed his penalty wide to his left, missing from the spot for the first time since the Euro 2020 final. Stratford erupted — and then did again three minutes later.
A clearance from a West Ham throw seemed to have the Gunners well out of danger, with Thilo Kehrer lofting a hopeful ball over the visiting defence and back into the penalty area. It fell to Jarrod Bowen, running in from the right, who put it past Aaron Ramsdale to draw level. For the second time in a week, Arsenal had thrown away a 2-0 lead on the road.
Arsenal managed to get their feet on the ball with a solid period of possession in the opposition half for the last 20 minutes of the game, but it was all too sterile. They played in front of a firmly held West Ham barricade, who then unleashed Benrahma and Bowen on extremely menacing counters. There was no real invention to break through from the men in black.
The drab second half leaves Arsenal four points clear of City, though having played a game more. Unless the Erling Haaland-powered Citizens contrive to drop points elsewhere, Arteta’s men need to win all six of their other games and get at least a draw at Etihad Stadium on April 26.
West Ham remains in danger despite having new hope because the draw does not move them out of 15th position. The second leg of the Europa Conference League quarterfinal against Gent is on Thursday, and the Irons sit four points clear of the relegation zone.
West Ham vs Arsenal final score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| West Ham | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Goals:
West Ham — Benrahma (33), Bowen (54)
Arsenal — Jesus (7), Odegaard (10)
