Arsenal 0 1 West Ham United Match Report

Jarrod Bowen’s header just before half-time saw us fall to defeat against West Ham United at Emirates Stadium as we missed out on the chance to put pressure on league leaders Liverpool.

The visiting captain nodded the ball past David Raya towards the end of a quiet first half to secure his side back-to-back wins on our patch for the first time since 2007, with our task made harder when Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity on 72 minutes.

Despite some late pressure, the Hammers held on to end our 15-match unbeaten league run, and the gap at the top remains at eight points with the Reds in action tomorrow.

Bowen blow

The opening half was incredibly light on goalmouth action as both teams struggled to impose themselves on the game. Our first sight of goal took 21 minutes to arrive, and it would be as good as it got in the opening 45 as Riccardo Calafiori forced Alphonse Areola to dirty his gloves with a blast from the edge of the box, but the effort arrowed straight to the Hammers’ shot-stopper.

The visitors then squandered a good opening when Aaron Wan-Bissaka pushed down the right and fed a pass into a well-placed Bowen but the visitors’ talisman screwed a shot intended for the bottom corner horribly wide.

But a couple of minutes before half-time, he wasn’t so forgiving as we fell behind. The England international picked up possession inside his own half and again fed Wan-Bissaka on the right. The full-back was allowed to edge closer and closer to our area, and he sent in a cross which Bowen sent past David Raya courtesy of a diving header to hand the visitors the advantage at the break.

Myles sees red

Having won at Emirates Stadium last season, the Hammers had put themselves in a great position to replicate that feat, and frustratingly the opening 15 minutes of the second half followed in the same fashion as the first, but on 62 minutes Leandro Trossard cut inside and forced Areola to make a good stop with his feet.

But with 20 minutes to go, our task of getting anything out of the game became harder when we were reduced to 10 men. Lewis-Skelly was caught in possession on the halfway line by Mohammed Kudus and pulled the attacker down, and after initially issuing a yellow card, Craig Pawson was sent to the monitor by the VAR and upgraded his decision after spotting that the teenager was the last defender and Raya was well out of his goal.

LATE PUSH

Despite having to play with a numerical disadvantage, West Ham allowed us to keep possession as they attempted to soak up the pressure and protect their lead, but chances remained at a premium.

One good chance did come our way with seven minutes to go when we won a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Raheem Sterling saw blocked by the wall and Martin Odegaard fed the rebound into the path of Gabriel but he looped his shot well over the crossbar.

Just before eight minutes of stoppage-time was displayed, Thomas Partey won a crucial tackle and the ball fell kindly for Trossard to hit, but his strike whistled over the top.

One bright spot was the return to action of Ben White who was introduced with five minutes to go, and with the clock ticking down he let fly inside the box but the ball whistled just wide, denying him a fairytale return and ending our hopes of avoiding defeat.

FACTS AND STATS

West Ham have won consecutive away league games against us for the first time since 2006/07, when they were the last side to beat us at Highbury, and the first to beat us at Emirates Stadium.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for the second time in the Premier League, though his first was eventually overturned. He’s the third teenager to be sent off twice in the competition (also Richard Dunne and Steven Taylor), and the first to do so before turning 19.

Our defeat ended our 15-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, while it was also the first time we’ve lost a Saturday 3pm game in the competition since April 2022 against Southampton.

All four of West Ham’s Premier League wins at Emirates Stadium have been our first home league defeat in that particular campaign (2006/07, 2015/16, 2023/24 and 2024/25).

Jarrod Bowen’s opener was his 50th Premier League goal, just the second player to reach this milestone for West Ham after Michail Antonio (68).

Bowen scored his fifth goal against us in all competitions, and his first at Emirates Stadium. In his West Ham career, he’s only scored more against Wolves (6) than he has against us.

Graham Potter became the second manager to beat us at  Emirates Stadium with three different clubs in all competitions (also with Ostersunds and Brighton), after Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea, Everton, Bayern Munich).

What's next

We're back in Premier League action against high-flying Nottingham Forest on Wednesday when we head to the City Ground, and then six days later we change gears to the Champions League as we head to Eindhoven for the first leg against PSV.