Soccer

WEST HAM and Arsenal served up one of the finest London derbies in recent memory on Saturday night, with SEVEN goals in the first half alone.The Gunners sailed into a 4-0 lead in the opening 35 minutes before the Hammers reduced the deficit with two quickfire goals, including a sublime Emerson free-kick.Kai Havertz celebrates putting Arsenal 4-0 aheadCredit: AlamyBukayo Saka’s penalty on the stroke of half-time made it 5-2, becoming only the fourth Premier League match in history to see seven goals before the break.A relatively lacklustre second half followed, with Mikel Arteta ringing the changes, particularly with Wednesday night’s showdown with Man Utd at the Emirates in the back of his mind.The result pulled the Gunners up to second in the Premier League table, six points behind Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s huge showdown between the leaders and a struggling Man City. Here’s how SunSport’s Charlie Pittock rated the Arsenal players…READ MORE IN FOOTBALLDavid Raya – 6Beaten at his near post for Wan-Bissaka’s opener, and could do nothing about Emerson’s free-kick.Conceded two in two minutes, but had virtually nothing to do besides that.A quiet night at the office for David Raya.Credit: GettyJurrien Timber – 6Charged towards the near-post at every corner, creating space for Gabriel to score and further opportunities throughout the game.West Ham players seemed to take turns fouling him, a major worry given the Arsenal’s current lack of options at right-back.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSWilliam Saliba – 6Outshone by his defensive partner, but Saliba hardly put a foot wrong in the first half either.Lucky to escape a booking early in the second half for a challenge on Jarrod Bowen.Moment huge brawl breaks out in West Ham end with punches thrown and fan knocked to ground in London derby vs ArsenalGabriel – 8The Brazilian headed home early on after a new-look corner routine to put his side in front.Wiped out by Lukasz Fabianski to gift Arsenal a penalty right at the end of the first-half.Taken off at half-time, Mikel Arteta confirmed in his post-match press conference that it was due to a prior injury.Gabriel heads home to fire Arsenal into an early lead during Saturday night’s London derby with West Ham.Credit: AFPRiccardo Calafiori – 5There’s no doubting the Italian’s attacking capabilities, but his defensive awareness risks being his downfall, as he was caught out for Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s goal.Replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko in the 56th minute, and appeared to point at his groin as he left the pitch.Bukayo Saka – 9Mr Reliable – at the centre of anything and everything whenever the Gunners went forward.Whipped in an inch-perfect corner for Gabriel, squared it to Trossard for Arsenal’s second, won the penalty for the third, and scored the penalty to make it 5-2 late on in the first half.Replaced by Raheem Sterling with 74 minutes on the clock.Bukayo Saka wheels away in celebration after scoring Arsenal’s FIFTH of an action-packed first halfCredit: GettyJorginho – 6The Italian had a fairly anonymous first half, but when your team scores five in one half, can anyone really have had a bad game?Declan Rice – 6Controlled the midfield alongside Jorginho, helping keep West Ham counter attacks to a minimum.Gave away a foul in a dangerous area before Emerson slotted home West Ham’s second with a wonderful free-kick.Leandro Trossard – 7Doubled the Gunners’ first-half lead with the easiest goal he’ll score all season.Pinged a perfect pass over the top to send Havertz through for the fourth.Much quieter in the second half, as were the rest of his team-mates.Martin Odegaard – 7The Gunners captain’s glorious through ball split open the West Ham defence in the build-up to Arsenal’s second.Always a threat, and made it 3-0 with a penalty.Martin Odegaard slots home a penalty to extend Arsenal’s lead.Credit: RexKai Havertz – 6Ran in behind to make it 4-0 within 35 minutes, prompting a mass exodus of West Ham fans.He’s now got as many Premier League goals and assists for Arsenal as he did for Chelsea, but in 42 fewer games.SUBSJakub Kiwior – 6Replaced Gabriel for the second half, and he certainly had big boots to fill.Hardly had anything to do in a very quiet second half for the Gunners defence.Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6 Mikel Arteta may have no choice but to play the Ukrainian at left-back if Calafiori is injured, and he didn’t do himself any harm.Solid at the back and got involved in some of Arsenal’s attacks too.Raheem Sterling – 6The Chelsea loanee is in desperate need of minutes, and came on with 15 minutes to go.Hit the side netting after Declan Rice’s menacing run through the West Ham midfield.Gabriel Jesus – 5Completely misjudged a pass within seconds of coming on, the former Man City man is yet to replicate the same form he had at the Etihad in an Arsenal shirt.READ MORE SUN STORIESMade some promising runs but looks totally void of all confidence.Ethan Nwaneri – N/AThe 17-year-old was brought on with just over five minutes to go, and didn’t really have enough time to make an impact on the game. 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ARSENAL’S Men In Black destroyed West Ham with dark arts, ruthless calm and flashes of deadly beauty.And Julen Lopetegui’s team must wish the Gunners also had the magic Neuralyzer gadget from the Will Smith films to wipe this Hammer house of horror show from their memory.Arsenal smashed West Ham 5-2 at the London StadiumCredit: GettyThe Gunners netted all of their goals in the first halfCredit: APWest Ham were left stunned as they struggled to impressCredit: PAThe result moved Arsenal to second in the tableCredit: GettyBut no-one who witnessed it will ever forget a half of football that made Hollywood’s best attempt to do football, Escape To Victory, look realistic.Only three times before has the Premier League come up with a script featuring seven goals in the opening 45 minutes.When the first four of them went to Arsenal, a significant number of home fans headed for the exits.Some of them returned when their team quickly pulled two back.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLYet their hopes of an incredible resurrection took a blow in the chops when goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski caught Arsenal defender Gabriel in the head while trying to punch clear another of those pesky corners.Like the Men in Black sequels, the goalless second half was not as good but Mikel Arteta will not care much.With three emphatic wins in a week, Arsenal have let Liverpool and Manchester City know they are very much still around ahead of their title rivals meeting at Anfield on Sunday.Just as in the victories against Nottingham Forest and Sporting Lisbon, the combination of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard was at times irresistible.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSCertainly by a West Ham side who gave them plenty of help.You could write a book about the first half. The basic plot was Arsenal doing all the things they do best (which doesn’t include defending this season).West Ham fans filmed walking out after 34 minutes as they fall 4-0 down to Arsenal… before comeback beginsCentre back Gabriel was supposedly a doubt for the game.But when Saka prepared to take a corner, surely there was no confusion in the minds of the West Ham players about which opponent they needed to mark most closely.In scenes more reminiscent of American football, a large cluster of players from both sides gathered beyond the far post, deep in the penalty area.Antonio was supposed to be on Gabriel, but as the routine unfolded, the Gunners centre back worked his way free with the help of his blockers.Gabriel Magalhaes opened the scoring after 10 minutesCredit: AFPLeandro Trossard doubled Arsenal’s leadCredit: PAMeanwhile at the near post, Jurrien Timber gave Lucas Paqueta a nudge in the back that stopped him heading away Saka’s inswinging delivery.And that left Gabriel free as a bird to glance the ball into the net.It’s all very slick and clever, but is it football?The tinfoil-hat brigade among the Arsenal fans love to believe that on-field officials, VAR’s and basically the whole world is involved in a conspiracy against them.Or in favour of Manchester City. Or…something.Yet they have strangely little to say about some of the blatant obstruction, crafty fouls and general s**thousery that their team is allowed to practise without fear of punishment.Arsenal ratings vs West HamWEST HAM and Arsenal served up one of the finest London derbies in recent memory on Saturday night, with SEVEN goals in the first half alone.The Gunners sailed into a 4-0 lead in the opening 35 minutes before the Hammers reduced the deficit with two quickfire goals, including a sublime Emerson free-kick.Bukayo Saka’s penalty on the stroke of half-time made it 5-2, becoming only the fourth Premier League match in history to see seven goals before the break.A relatively lacklustre second half followed, with Mikel Arteta ringing the changes, particularly with Wednesday night’s showdown with Man Utd at the Emirates in the back of his mind.The result pulled the Gunners up to second in the Premier League table, six points behind Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s huge showdown between the leaders and a struggling Man City.Read how SunSport’s Charlie Pittock rated the Gunners stars.Martin Odegaard made it 3-0 from the penalty spotCredit: ReutersSoon it was 4-0 thanks to Kai HavertzCredit: GettyCrysencio Summerville’s sumptuous finish was ruled out for offside and it was brief respite from sustained Arsenal pressure.Saka shot wide when well placed before causing more mayhem from a corner.Then he created the beautiful second goal, the first of three in nine minutes.After laying the ball inside to Odegaard, the England winger made a crafty run into the box.He controlled his captain’s delicious return pass on his left thigh then crossed immediately with his right foot. Leandro Trossard could not miss, and didn’t.Numerous West Ham fans were filmed leaving their seatsThey missed a quickfire Hammers double from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson PalmieriCredit: ReutersSaka’s next assist came when he went down under Paqueta’s challenge to earn a softish penalty.Odegaard stroked it home. Amazingly it soon got worse for the Hammers.Max Kilman failed to cut out Trossard’s long ball and Kai Havertz scored confidently.Some West Ham fans had seen enough. They missed Aaron Wan-Bissaka scoring from a Carlos Soler pass and Emerson clipping home a fabulous free kick.It was crazy knockabout stuff, proper Saturday teatime entertainment.Things went a little less family-friendly when an Emerson foul on Saka led to a melee and both players receiving yellow cards.Bukayo Saka put the game to bed before half-time with another penaltyCredit: GettyThe result saw Arsenal move to second in the tableCredit: GettyThe final mad moment of a crazy half of football came when Fabianski tried to punch another Saka corner clear but only succeeded in hitting Gabriel.After Saka converted the spotkick to make it 5-2, there was still time for Emerson to force David Raya into a fine save with another free kick.Gabriel did not appear for the second half. Nor did the great entertainment.Like zombies at the drive-in, West Ham attempted to rise from the dead again. Bowen fired off target and Antonio’s shot was deflected wide. There were a few oohs and aahs as the ball ricocheted around the Arsenal penalty area a couple of times, but nothing clear-cut until the death.The Gunners’ attitude was more about control and contain than scoring further goals. Although they looked dangerous on the break and Saka’s corners continued to terrify the Hammers, Fabianski’s only decent save was from Odegaard.READ MORE SUN STORIESThe managers made use of all their substitutes and Danny Ings should have scored in stoppage time after rounding Raya.But after Fabianski’s fist struck the final telling blow of that unbelievable first half, there was no changing the outcome. More

WEST HAM fans were filmed walking out against Arsenal after just 34 minutes before their team launched a short-lived fightback.The Hammers were left stunned as Mikel Arteta’s visitors raced into a 4-0 lead in east London.West Ham fans were filmed leaving early after conceding four goals against ArsenalSome decided to leave their seats after just 34 minutesGabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz were all on target for the Gunners.West Ham were second-best all over the pitch as they failed to record even just one shot in reply.And video footage showed numerous supporters leaving their seats inside the London Stadium.Some were seen calling time on the first half in the 34th minute.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAnd the exodus only grew when Arsenal bagged their fourth soon after.But those who made for an early exit missed West Ham net a quickfire double to make it 4-2.In the 38th minute, Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave his side a glimmer of hope with a well-taken finish.And things got even better moments later when fellow full-back Emerson Palmieri banged in a beautiful free-kick.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSThe celebrations from those still in their seats were sure to have tempted fans back from the concourse.But their collective joy was short-lived.Inside Arsenal’s new £300m+ stadium plans with futuristic Emirates project set to dwarf Spurs groundFans who left missed two quickfire goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson PalmieriCredit: ReutersWest Ham lost their momentum when Bukayo Saka made it 5-2 to Arsenal before half-timeCredit: GettyAs West Ham pushed for a third, they ended up conceding a penalty from a corner.With Odegaard already netting one from the spot, Bukayo Saka got the chance to open his account.And England’s star winger made no mistakes as he fired home to make it 5-2 to Arsenal.Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui responded at the break by replacing winger Crycensio Summerville with anchorman Edson Alvarez.But neither side was able to find the net again, with the result sending Arsenal into second while leaving West Ham in 14th. More