Arsenal humbled by West Ham in London derby

Arsenal's hopes of reclaiming the top spot in the Premier League were dashed as they suffered an unexpected 2-0 home defeat to West Ham.

The match settled into an early pattern, with Arsenal dominating possession while West Ham maintained defensive discipline and sought opportunities on the counter-attack.

It was during one of these counter-attacks that the visitors took the lead in the 13th minute. An Emerson cross created chaos in the home defence, and Jarrod Bowen reacted swiftly, flicking the loose ball back across the goal for Tomas Soucek to score.

VAR closely examined whether Bowen had kept the ball in play at the by-line. Despite the lack of conclusive evidence to overturn Michael Oliver's on-field decision, the goal stood, putting West Ham in the lead.

As the first half concluded, home pressure intensified. Bukayo Saka forced a sharp save from Alphonse Areola with a close-range header, and Ben White's header went wide following a well-executed short corner.

The second half mirrored the first, with Arsenal applying pressure but paying the price for West Ham's clinical finishing. 

In the 55th minute, James Ward-Prowse's corner met a towering header from former Arsenal Kostas Mavropanos, striking the underside of the crossbar and crossing the line.

The sense that it was West Ham's night grew, and this feeling intensified five minutes past the hour mark when Martin Odegaard delivered an inviting cross to the far post, but Gabriel Jesus headed over.

Alphonse Areola made crucial saves, using his legs to deny Leandro Trossard's sharp turn in the box. He also dived low to his right to grab a shot from Saka and flew to his left to push an Odegaard attempt around the post.

In stoppage time, West Ham had a chance to add a third after Declan Rice fouled Emerson in the box. However, David Raya made a great save to deny Said Benrahma's penalty.

With this result, David Moyes' men climb ahead of Manchester United, into sixth place in the Premier League table. Meanwhile, Arsenal stay two points behind the leaders, Liverpool, as the campaign reaches its halfway stage.