Arsenal blow another two-goal lead vs West Ham to slip up in title race again

Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead for the second week running in a dramatic 2-2 draw against West Ham on Sunday that has opened the door even further for Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

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The Gunners went to the London Stadium knowing they had Pep Guardiola’s fearsome side breathing down their necks after the reigning champions swept past Leicester on Saturday and appeared to be in cruise control themselves after quick-fire goals from Gabriel Jesus and skipper Martin Odegaard inside the first 10 minutes.

But just as they looked to be cantering towards a sixth straight London derby away win, a penalty got West Ham back into the mix. With Arsenal’s composure suddenly evaporating, Bukayo Saka missed a spot-kick of his own before Jarred Bowen levelled the scores moments later.

Both sides had half-chances to grab a winner in a nervy finale, with West Ham even hitting the crossbar, though in truth Arsenal did not do enough to find a winner and David Moyes’ spirited side deserved their point.

Arsenal skipper Odegaard had taken control of the early exchanges and a sublime through-ball found the overlapping Ben White, who squared for Jesus to tap in from close range in the seventh minute.

West Ham’s defence looked totally disorganised and less than three minutes later they had conceded again. This time, Gabriel Martinelli was allowed too much space to whip in a devilish cross from the left wing and Odegaard was completely unmarked at the back post to volley home.

At this point it looked as though Arsenal would run away with the contest as they exerted near total control over their opponents, and after the first 20 minutes they had played five times as many passes as the shell-shocked Irons.

West Ham only managed to show a few glimmers of the physicality they had wanted to bring to the contest, with Michail Antonio worrying Rob Holding with his pace. Gabriel Magalhaes, by contrast, seemed to relish the battle.

But when Thomas Partey was robbed on the edge of his own box, the Brazilian centre-back went to ground rashly and caught Lucas Paqueta’s trailing foot. It looked soft, but the referee pointed to the spot.

At Anfield, Arsenal were let off the hook when Mohamed Salah stroked his penalty wide of the post, but Said Benrahma made no mistakes, sending Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way, and suddenly the nature of the match changed entirely.

A stadium that had been threatening to turn toxic became alive again, with supporters cheering every little foray forward. A succession of free-kicks and corners had Arsenal’s defence panicking at the back and Antonio very nearly nodded the hosts level, with Mikel Arteta thankful for the half-time whistle.

Shortly after the restart, Arsenal had the opportunity to reassert control when Antonio handled in the act of trying to block a shot. Saka, who famously missed his penalty in the Euro 2020 final, stepped up but shockingly sent his effort wide of the left post.

The Gunners’ players looked rattled and they were made to pay within two minutes when a set-piece was cleared to Thilo Kehrer a long way outside the box, who launched a hopeful up-and-under in behind Arsenal’s defence as they pushed up.

It left Jarrod Bowen unmarked, who volleyed his effort into the ground and up and over the despairing fingertips of Ramsdale, with the ball kissing the near post as it went in. Now West Ham looked like the side most likely to score again as Arsenal retreated into their shell.

The north Londoners did begin to regain their composure, with a low delivery from Kieran Tierney inches away from providing another tap-in for Jesus, while Arteta opted to throw on two of his experienced January signings – Jorginho and Leandro Trossard – to settle the nerves further.

Both sides had chances on the break, with Saka streaking clear at one end and Bowen denied by an excellent block from Tierney at the other. The Hammers weren’t happy with just a point, either, and nearly grabbed a winner in the 81st minute when Antonio headed onto the bar after a whipped cross from Benrahma.

Arsenal – who have struck late on so many occasions this season – exerted a little more pressure in the closing stages and Arteta rolled the dice with a trio of adventurous late subs. But, despite some huffing and puffing, the Gunners never really troubled Lukasz Fabianski and they were forced to settle for a point.

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