EPL: Arsenal cruise past West Ham to move second

Arsenal moved second in the Premier League after a frenetic victory over West Ham at London Stadium in which seven goals were scored in the first half.

The Gunners led after 10 minutes when centre-back Gabriel flicked home Bukayo Saka’s corner at the near post after escaping loose West Ham marking.

And the lead was doubled after 27 minutes when Leandro Trossard finished a flowing Arsenal move from close range. Saka was again the provider, played in by a chipped Martin Odegaard through ball before squaring to Trossard to finish.

Then followed a frantic period of four goals in six minutes, started by Odegaard making it three shortly following the hour mark from the penalty spot after Saka was tripped in the area by Lucas Paqueta.

And Arsenal went 4-0 up after 36 minutes when a long ball was missed by home defender Max Kilman, allowing Kai Havertz to finish one-on-one past beleagured goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

West Ham responded when right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his second goal in consecutive games with a near-post finish, before left-back Emerson reduced the arrears to 4-2 with a magnificent free-kick that crashed in off the crossbar.

But Arsenal restored their three-goal lead with a second penalty, this time netted by Saka for his first away league goal of the season after Fabianski accidentally punched Gabriel while trying to clear a corner.

This was only the fourth time in Premier League history that seven goals have been scored in the first half of a game – but there were none after the break as Arsenal comfortably saw out the win.

Victory moves Mikel Arteta’s side six points behind leaders Liverpool, who face third-place Manchester City on Sunday (16:00 GMT).

West Ham remain 14th in the table, six points above the relegation zone.