Early goals from Eduardo da Silva and Emmanuel Adebayor helped Arsenal cruise past West Ham.
Early brace enough against West Ham
Early goals from Eduardo da Silva and Emmanuel Adebayor helped Arsenal cruise past West Ham to stay two points clear at the top of the Premier League.
The Hammers stunned champions Manchester United on Saturday but never looked likely to follow up that result with victory at Emirates Stadium.
Eduardo was left free in the box after just two minutes and had the time to control Cesc Fabregas' precise cross on his chest before volleying past an exposed and furious Robert Green.
And Adebayor made it 2-0 on 18 minutes when he raced onto Gael Clichy's long ball out of defence with the visiting defence again caught napping before rounding Green and somehow finding the back of the net via the far post from what looked to be an impossible angle.
West Ham, the only team to win at Emirates Stadium in the league after last season's triumph in their great escape from relegation, suffered yet another injury blow with former Gunner Freddie Ljungberg limping out of the action in the first half.
When they game kicked-off, Arsenal wasted little time before they raced into the lead.
Cesc Fabregas was fed the ball on the left, where the Spaniard held up possession before chipping over a lofted pass into the penalty area.
The ball landed perfectly for Eduardo, who collected it on his chest before volleying a low shot into the far corner for a 10th goal of a quickly-improving season, with five in the past three games.
West Ham striker Carlton Cole caused some concern in the Arsenal box before Mark Noble saw an effort blocked by Toure and then stabbed the loose ball wide.
In the 11th minute Cole got clear in the left side of the area again, this time his goalbound shot was deflected behind.
From the resulting corner, Anton Ferdinand saw his close-range effort cleared off the line by Gael Clichy.
Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was too busy for manager Arsene Wenger's liking and in the 16th minute he needed to make a save at the near post to deny former Gunner Ljungberg.
However, just when it seemed the hosts were on the back foot, they made it 2-0 in the 18th minute.
Clichy sent a long ball up field from deep inside the Arsenal half and the bounce took it away from Ferdinand and Matthew Upson, with Adebayor galloping clear.
The big Togo striker got a touch ahead of the onrushing Green, and although the angle was tight almost at the byline, Adebayor somehow managed to squeeze the ball past Matt Upson and in off the far post.
West Ham continued to press and Cole's centre into the six-yard box from the right picked out John Pantsil, who was just off target with his overhead kick.
In the 37th minute, West Ham were forced into a change when Wales Under-21 captain Jack Collison replaced Ljungberg, who looked to have a hamstring problem.
With 27 minutes left, Eduardo was replaced by Theo Walcott and Arsenal remained in control, if not opening up the West Ham defence in the final third.
Walcott made space for himself on the edge of the box after turning inside Lucas Neill, but his low shot lacked power.
Green was out quickly to block a close-range effort from a sliding Tomas Rosicky as Arsenal pressed for a third, which ultimately they failed to find.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
West Ham United |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
9 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 5 |
Corners |
7 |
| 5 |
Fouls |
9 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 87.1 |
Passing Success |
78.5 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
29 |
| 87.5 |
Tackles Success |
75.9 |
| 55.3 |
Possession |
44.7 |
| 56 |
Territorial Advantage |
44 |
|
