Arsenal 2-0 West Ham Utd

  • by Staff Writer
  • Saturday, 4th October 2025

Four shots in total, zero shots on target, nul points - and hundreds of black balloons.

West Ham remain firmly rooted in the bottom three of the Premier League after falling to a fourth London derby defeat already this season, at the hands of championship contenders Arsenal, which follows reversals against Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Tottenham.


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And despite making the Hammers look a little more resilient defensively than under his predecessor, Nuno Santo - whose team were welcomed onto the pitch by a sea of black balloons release by Hammers fans in protest against the board - was simply unable to bridge the vast gulf in quality between the two squads that has grown since the Hammers finished four points above the Gunners just five years ago.

An attack led by the static Niclas Fullkrug, who simply looks unable to cope with the pace of the Premier League, was always going to struggle against the likes of Saliba and Gabriel - and so it proved as the Hammers were essentially toothless in the final third.

And once Declan Rice powered home the opening goal seven minutes ahead of the interval, West Ham were always set to struggle.

That the game was won by a goal that never should have been, when referee John Brooks awarded a penalty after Malick Diouf tripped Jurrien Timber outside the box - a decision that was scandalously greenlighted by the VAR team, led by Michael Oliver - will almost certainly be largely overlooked by the fawning media.


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Following that, Bukayo Saka stepped up to convert from 12 yards, doubling Arsenal's advantage, at which point the contest simply became a question of damage limitation for Santo and his squad.

That the Hammers managed to steer a course to the final whistle without conceding any further goals was credit to a resolute Hammers defence, led superbly today by former Gunner Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Yet bar another promising performance from Crysencio Summerville, who was the one Hammer prepared to drive at the Arsenal defence, Santo will have learned very little about his players.

We'll have a full match report for you soon...


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West Ham Utd: Areola, Wan-Bissaka (Walker-Peters 79), Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Magassa (Potts 60), Fernandes, Paqueta, Bowen (c), Summerville, Fullkrug (Marshall 60)

Subs not used: Hermansen, Scarles, Igor, Rodríguez, Guilherme, Wilson

Booked: Summerville, Paqueta

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori (Lewis-Skelly 75), Rice (Merino 79), Saka, Trossard (Nwaneri 75), Odegaard (c) (Zubimendi 30), Eze (Martinelli 79), Gyokeres

Subs not used: Kepa, White, Mosquera, Norgaard

Goals: Rice (38), Saka (67 pen)

Possession: AFC 68%-32% WHUFC

Shots/on target: AFC 21/5-4/0 WHUFC

xG: AFC 2.73-0.49 WHUFC

Referee: John Brooks

Attendance: 60,181

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