Arsenal waste two goal lead, suffer title blow against West Ham

Arsenal squandered a 2-0 lead for the second successive week as they were held to a two-all draw by West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners made a dream start as they were two goals up in the first ten minutes but Said Benrahma halved the deficit for the hosts from the spot shortly before halftime.

Dream start turns into a nightmare

Bukayo Saka then missed a penalty early in the second half before Jarrod Bowen restored parity minutes later. David Moyes’ side almost completed the comeback in the last ten minutes when Michail Antonio headed against the crossbar.

Arsenal held on for a point as the result surely comes as a massive blow in their hopes of winning the title.

Reigning Champions Manchester City look in ominous form and are four points behind with a game in hand and a potential title decider against the Gunners coming up in ten days’ time.

Arsenal make the perfect start

Mikel Arteta’s side made a perfect start when Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring in the seventh minute following some delightful interplay from the visitors.

Martin Odegaard laid it off to Ben White in the inside right wing, whose low cross was tapped in the far corner by Jesus.

Odegaard then doubled the lead three minutes later when he was completely unmarked following Gabriel Martinelli’s wonderful cross from the left wing.

The Hammers looked shell-shocked and were all at sea in the opening fifteen minutes but soon settled into the game.

Thomas Partey brought down Lucas Paqueta following a wild tackle and after a nervous wait, Benrahma made no mistake as he converted from the spot to reduce the deficit.

Arsenal went into the halftime whistle with their noses ahead and should have made it 3-1 soon after the resumption.

Antonio was penalized for a handball following an Arsenal corner but Saka stepped up to blaze his shot way over the bar.

The hosts took full advantage as they were level just two minutes later when Bowen stoked a delightful volley past Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.

Moyes’ side could have run away with the three points but Kieran Tierney blocked Bowen’s low effort before Antonio headed against the crossbar as the Gunners escaped with a point.

The result means Arsenal stay top with 74 points from 31 points while West Ham are now four points above the relegation zone in 15^th.

Photo credit: IMAGO / PA Images