West Ham force Arsenal to break unwanted Premier League record

Arsenal had their quest to reclaim the Premier League summit hit a stumbling block as they suffered a frustrating 2-0 defeat against West Ham United, subsequently breaking an unwanted Premier League record in a lackluster performance.

The Gunners, aiming to surpass Liverpool in the league standings, faltered against a resilient West Ham side. Tomas Soucek struck first, drilling home from close range after 13 minutes following Jarrod Bowen’s precise cut-back from the byline.

A VAR review ensued, debating the ball’s potential exit from play before the assist, ultimately allowing the goal to stand due to inconclusive angles available to the officials.

Former Arsenal defender Dinos Mavropanos compounded Arsenal’s woes by nodding in James Ward-Prowse’s corner in the second half, doubling the lead for West Ham.

Despite Arsenal’s numerous attempts, including Bukayo Saka hitting the post and Gabriel Jesus missing two significant opportunities, they were unable to convert any of their 30 shots into goals.

In an unprecedented statistic noted by BBC’s Match of the Day, Arsenal made history as the first team in Premier League history to have had 77 touches in the opposition box against West Ham without finding the net.

Post-match, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard expressed his disappointment, acknowledging the team’s failure to capitalize on their chances.

“It’s one of those nights,” he remarked to Amazon Prime.

“We had a lot of chances and did enough to score some goals, but in the box, we were not good enough. We take the good things and learn from the things we didn’t do well.”

Odegaard emphasized the collective responsibility to improve in front of the goal, stating,

“It’s not about some players [not scoring]. We have to improve in front of the goal and it’s down to the whole team to do that.”

Reflecting on the contentious goal, Odegaard added,

“I guess it was a close call [whether the ball was in play or out for the first goal]. Hopefully, they have made the right call there. Still, after that, we had enough chances to win the game.”