Arsenal runs riot to fire five past West Ham
Arsenal moved up to second in the Premier League after a rampant first-half performance propelled it to a 5-2 victory over West Ham United.
All of the goals came in a remarkable opening 45 minutes at London Stadium, with Arsenal racing into a 4-0 lead after just 36 minutes.
Gabriel Magalhaes opened the scoring just 10 minutes in before Leandro Trossard tucked home its second just before the half-hour mark.
Martin Odegaard then drilled it in from the spot, while Kai Havertz punished some slack defending to beat Lukasz Fabianski one-on-one.
Yet quickfire strikes from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson, who picked out the top corner with a stunning free-kick, gave West Ham hope, but its chances of a comeback were quashed shortly before the break.
Bukayo Saka, who also provided two assists, added Arsenal's fifth from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time after Fabianski clattered Gabriel while attempting to clear a corner.
It is only the fourth time in Premier League history that there have been seven goals scored in a single half, but the Gunners put in a more measured display after the interval to ensure there was no hint of drama.
Arsenal now sits six points behind leader Liverpool, which faces a heavyweight clash with Manchester City on Monday (AEDT), while West Ham remains in 14th.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was as astonished by what he saw in the first half as anyone else at London Stadium.
"We made it crazy, we played so well at the start of the game," he said.
"We scored three early goals, and then they score one immediately after kick-off and then another one – then it was game on.
"We have to manage the game – we did that really well. The last two games were tricky and to score goals is a big one."
Arsenal has now scored 60 Premier League away goals against West Ham, the first side to score 60 or more on the road against a single opponent in the competition.
"I was happier with the first 30 minutes rather than the last 15 minutes of the first half, that's for sure. We started incredibly well, so positive, so much energy and a lot of quality," Arteta added.
"Immediately after we scored the fourth, we conceded a sloppy one and an unbelievable free-kick, and then it was game on. Thank goodness we scored the fifth and then that allowed us to play a different game in the second half and manage it a lot more."
Bukayo Saka has now been involved in 15 Premier League goals this season, scoring five and assiting 10, a tally bettered only by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
"I am taking a lot of pleasure from creating and scoring, but the greatest pleasure is to win. Let's keep this form going. Definitely the last three games we have been back," Saka said.
