Arsenal humiliate West Ham to close gap at the top

Arsenal narrowed the gap to the top of the Premier League to just two points with an impressive 6-0 victory against West Ham at the London Stadium.

The Gunners dominated the early stages of the game, but it was West Ham who came close to scoring first, capitalising on a counter-attack. 

A low cross from Ben Johnson aimed for Mohammed Kudus, but a crucial intervention by Jakub Kiwior at the far post prevented what seemed like a certain goal.

Despite West Ham's initial threat, Arsenal took the lead just over half an hour when William Saliba headed in the opener from Declan Rice's deep corner.

The visitors missed opportunities to extend their lead, with Bukayo Saka steering a header wide and later failing to convert chances created by Martin Odegaard. 

In the last minutes of the first half, the Gunners completely destroyed the Hammers. Firstly, Saka earned and scored a penalty just before half-time, bringing Arsenal's lead to 2-0. 

Gabriel Magalhaes added a third before the break, nodding in a free-kick from Rice.

In stoppage time of the first half, Leandro Trossard contributed to Arsenal's dominant performance by striking a stunning shot into the top corner for the fourth goal. 

The tempo slowed in the second half, but Mikel Arteta's men continued to create chances, and eventually they scored a fifth thtough Saka, scoring his second goal by weaving through the defence and firing past Alphonse Areola's near post.

Declan Rice capped off Arsenal's emphatic win with a screamer from range, securing a 6-0 victory. 

Arsenal now sit level on points with second-placed Manchester City, though they have played one more game. Meanwhile, West Ham has dropped to eighth place and is now 11 points behind the top four.