90PLUS | 7 points ahead! Arsenal, in turn, solve a match against West Ham and secure first place

match report | At the end of Boxing Day, leaders Arsenal hosted West Ham United in today’s third London derby. In a one-sided match, the hosts won 3-1 (0-1).

As expected, the Gunners took control from the start. West Ham tried hard to score. The first excitement was a potential blow to the home team. indeed Bukayo Saka He touched the ball with his heel during a pass, causing Eddie Nketiah to be offside while preparing for the goal (5′). West Ham couldn’t handle Arsenal’s pace at all in the early stages. The next chance was a long-range shot from Granit Xhaka, but this was not a problem for Lukasz Fabianski (13). In the aftermath, Arsenal continued to blend in aggressively on the wings, and Martin Odegaard in the middle was brimming with enthusiasm too. However, the end result was missing.

When the Hammers then dared to go further, they were nearly conceded 0:1 at the table. But Nketiah was unable to overtake the last defender (21 d). Shortly afterwards, Odegaard narrowly missed from a tight angle (23′). Out of nowhere there were penalties for West Ham at the other end. Arsenal were unable to clear a long ball due to poor communication. Jarrod Bowen He entered the penalty area and was shot by William Saliba (26 minutes). He tried to continue, but lost his balance and fell. Michael Oliver made this point. Said bin Rahma He took over and converted in the middle to make it 0:1 (27).

Arsenal were briefly shocked, but quickly picked up the pace and pushed for an equaliser. After a long ball, Nketiah suddenly broke free, but the striker needed too long and managed to cross the ball to Saka. Craig Dawson clear (34). Otherwise, West Ham did a good job in midfield at this point, and Arsenal barely made it into the final third. In the last five minutes before half-time, Arsenal pushed again. There was action again in injury time. Ödegaard took the goal, and Aaron Cresswell (45 + 3 ‘) hit the ball. Oliver first pointed to the penalty kick. However, after viewing the pictures, it turned out that the ball was cleared with a header. The penalty was replayed and it remained 0-1 at the break.

The second half started well. On the one hand, Michail Antonio entered the penalty area on the right and shot, but Aaron Ramsdal had no problems with the high attempt (46). On the other side, Thomas Partey tested Fabianski from long range, hitting the low ball from the corner (48). With the next opportunity, the landlords achieved the compensation they deserved. Odegaard tried from distance but failed to hit the ball properly. So his shot became the perfect pass for Sakawho threw an independent shot into the far corner to make it 1-1 (53).

Nancy Stevens

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