Arsenal win thanks to 'crazy' first half

"Crazy to the point of absurdity" is how the British press described the first half of the London derby at the Olympic Stadium on December 1. In the first 36 minutes, West Ham barely played and Arsenal scored four goals. After that, the home team did not collapse but instead scored two goals in three minutes. When the opponent showed signs of recovering, Arsenal extinguished West Ham's fire with the second penalty of the match, sealing a 5-2 victory in the first half.

It took Arsenal just 10 minutes to open the scoring from their strong point of a corner kick. West Ham knew Gabriel Magalhaes would be the main target for the cross, but still let the Brazilian centre-back comfortably head the ball into the net. After that, the home team could not get the ball up, while Arsenal easily created chances.

In 10 minutes, from the 27th to the 36th minute, the visitors scored 3 goals in a row, in which the goal to increase the score to 2-0 was the result of an exemplary coordination between the trio Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard. Odegaard's high pass helped Saka get his second assist of the match, and Trossard got a goal.

Saka then returned the favour, by giving the penalty to his captain. West Ham looked like they were falling apart after the third goal, allowing Kai Havertz to comfortably beat Lukasz Fabianski for the fourth time in the match.

Goals in the 38th and 40th minutes saved the game for West Ham. The home side were lethargic and did not have a shot until Aaron Wan-Bissaka broke down the right and fired past David Raya from the near corner. Two minutes later, the opposite full-back Emerson scored a free-kick from 20 yards. These strikes saved West Ham from being booed at half-time.

On the other side of the pitch, coach Mikel Arteta was furious when the visitors conceded two goals in a completely dominant game. The Spanish strategist's anger only ended when Saka successfully scored a penalty in the fifth minute of injury time. The previous big mistake belonged to goalkeeper Fabianski, who punched Gabriel straight in the face in an attempt to block a corner kick.

West Ham - Arsenal is the fourth match in Premier League history to see 7 goals in the first half. The highlight of the goal-heavy rain was Saka, who had a hand in 4 goals. After 13 rounds, Saka contributed to 15 goals for Arsenal, including 10 assists. In the last 26 London derbies, the England international scored 10 goals and contributed 15 assists.

The visitors took the initiative to play slowly in the second half, keeping the score the same. Although they could not win 6-0 like the away match at West Ham last season, Arsenal ended a streak of 4 away matches without a win.

Arteta's team temporarily rose to second place with 25 points, 6 points behind the top team Liverpool - who will meet Man City on Sunday night, December 1. Arsenal will be pushed down to third place, if Man City win three points at Anfield.