West Ham 2-5 Arsenal: In-form Gunners cut gap to leaders Liverpool as Bukayo Saka inspires big win

Arsenal continued their recent resurgence with a 5-2 win over West Ham at the London Stadium to move up to second and cut the gap to leaders Liverpool to six points.

Mikel Arteta’s side made it 13 goals scored in three games as they followed up their wins over Nottingham Forest and Sporting with another rampant attacking display inspired by Bukayo Saka.

All of the game’s seven goals came in an extraordinary first period, the floodgates opening when defender Gabriel Magalhaes headed in his fourth of the season from Saka’s corner (10).

Leandro Trossard added a second with a tap-in after slick combination play between Saka and Martin Odegaard (27), with the latter then converting a third goal from the penalty spot after Lucas Paqueta was adjudged to have fouled Saka (34).

West Ham continued to capitulate as a simple ball over the top from Trossard released Kai Havertz to score Arsenal’s fourth (36), but the hosts briefly rallied when Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his second goal in as many games (38) and Emerson Palmieri crashed a stunning free-kick in off the bar moments later (40).

Those West Ham goals briefly transformed the mood inside the ground, but the Gunners added a fifth when Lukasz Fabianski fouled Gabriel from a corner, with Saka this time stepping up to score the penalty (45+5).

With the suspended Julen Lopetegui watching on from the stands, West Ham tried to reduce the deficit again in the second half but couldn’t find a way through as they were brought back to earth following their 2-0 win at Newcastle on Monday.

Arsenal, who will now keep a keen eye on events at Anfield on Sunday, showed once again that they will not give up on the title without a fight. West Ham, meanwhile, are left in 14th.

Watch: All SEVEN goals!

Redknapp: Saka potential ‘frightening’

Jamie Redknapp labelled Bukayo Saka’s potential as “frightening” after he inspired the win and also praised Martin Odegaard for helping to get the best out of Arsenal’s talisman.

“Saka is an incredible role model, so intelligent, knows the game inside out,” said the Sky Sports pundit.

“The job he is doing, the improvements he is making and the level he can get to are frightening because he can score goals, make goals and has great desire.

“He runs in behind and is so difficult to defend against.”

He added: “Saka and Martin Odegaard linked up beautifully at times and they looked like the side we’ve seen over the last couple of years.

“It just shows everybody what Odegaard does for this team, he knits it together. He is the glue in the team. He is an absolute joy to watch and you see how much better they are with him.

“He frees Saka up and gives him that time in one on one situations that you can’t really have unless Odegaard is playing.”

Analysis: Rampant Arsenal firing on all cylinders

This was another emphatic win from a side which has rediscovered its groove in a big way. Having laboured through the opening months of the season, Arsenal are flying now.

Martin Odegaard’s return has been the catalyst for their upturn in form but Bukayo Saka is the one leading the charge. His goal and two assists took him to 15 goal involvements in 12 Premier League appearances this season. He also won the penalty for their third.

Jamie Redknapp described his potential as “frightening” but Saka is already playing at a level few players in the Premier League can match. Only Mohamed Salah has had a direct hand in more goals this season. On this kind of form, Saka is just as devastating.

Most satisfying for Mikel Arteta, though, is that Arsenal are hurting their opponents in different ways and from varying sources. The 13 goals they have scored in the last three games have come from nine different scorers. West Ham were destroyed from set-pieces and in open-play.

Arteta described Saka’s contribution to their latest win as “incredible” in his post-match press conference but he was eager to talk up the collective too. “To have various ways of scoring goals makes the team much more unpredictable,” he said. Arsenal, like Saka, are on the ascent.

Story of the match in stats…

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