Arsenal's title hopes in tatters as ten-man Gunners fall to West Ham - 5 talking points
ARSENAL 0-1 WEST HAM: Jarrod Bowen's strike just minutes before half-time was enough for Graham Potter to get a big victory that leaves the Gunners title hopes hanging by a thread
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorArsenal now need a miracle in the Premier League title race after their ten men fell to a slender defeat to West Ham.
Jarrod Bowen gave West Ham the lead on the stroke of half-time after heading home from Aaron Wan-Bissaka's delicious cross. Things then got even worse for Arsenal midway through the second half as Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for a last man foul on Mohammed Kudus.
The Gunners struggled for creativity and threat all afternoon, and were unable to find a way beyond a stubborn West Ham defence. It leaves Arsenal second having failed to reduce the gap to leaders Liverpool.
West Ham in the meantime remain 17th but 13 points clear of the relegation zone. Here are all of the talking points from the Emirates:
Merino leads the line
After his match-winning brace against Leicester, it was only natural that Mikel Merino earned a deserved start against West Ham. But he failed to have as much of an impact this time around.
He was marshalled by the West Ham defence very well, as he struggled for space being the lone forward. Although in his defence, Arsenal's creativity was lacking throughout.
Merino's main contribution was to leave Bowen in a heap after a mistimed challenge in the first half. Mikel Arteta is certainly right in his assessment that others will have to step up amid their injury crisis.
What went wrong for Arsenal vs West Ham? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Bowen reaches milestone
While Merino is not a natural centre-forward, the same can certainly be said of Bowen. But it mattered not as he found himself in the right place at the right time to score his seventh goal of the season.
Wan-Bissaka was given far too much space down the right to cross the ball in towards the forward, who had ghosted in undetected behind Declan Rice. He then had the simple task of heading home.
It represented his 50th Premier League goal for West Ham, with Bowen being only the second man to reach that milestone after Michail Antonio.
Lewis-Skelly dismissed
There was a bit of de ja vu at the Emirates as Arsenal star Lewis-Skelly was sent off for a last-man challenge following a VAR review. West Ham's Mohammed Kudus had skipped around the young defender and with Raya advanced, looked to have a clean run at goal.
But he was then taken down by the young defender. Referee Craig Pawson initially brandished a yellow but was sent to the VAR monitor and changed the call to red.
It was the second time that he had been sent off in a matter of weeks but this one looks very unlikely to be overturned.
Arteta makes bold change
Eyebrows were certainly raised midway through the second-half as Arteta chased the game. Midfielder Declan Rice was taken off in place of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Allowing for injury, it was a change that the Arsenal boss hasn't made very often at all. After all, Rice is a hugely valuable presence in the heart of midfield both from an attacking and defensive standpoint.
But he was having a difficult game up until that point and given Arsenal were chasing the game, more attacking options might have been Arteta's thinking. But it did not work.
Title challenge almost over
Arsenal have constantly been on the back foot when it comes the Premier League title race this season. But this defeat appears to be the moment where their fleeting hopes of lifting the trophy have finally been extinguished.
The Gunners simply cannot be losing games like this if they want to be bonafide challengers. They are already eight points behind Liverpool and that could potentially be 11 should Arne Slot's men beat Manchester City on Sunday.
It's tough to see a fall-off dramatic enough to allow Arsenal back into the race. And for now, Arteta may have to focus all of his efforts onto the Champions League for their last hope of silverware.
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