Seven points from their last three home league matches has represented an upturn in form for West Ham, but an already tough challenge became even harder 10 minutes in as Arsenal took the lead.
The Gunners’ set-piece ability is no secret, and they netted from a corner once again when Gabriel Magalhaes glanced in Bukayo Saka’s delivery to give the Hammers an uphill task. Arsenal remained in the ascendancy, with Saka bending an effort wide of the far post before combining with Martin Odegaard to devastating effect.
Wonderful interplay between the pair released Saka, who squared to Leandro Trossard for a simple tap-in with 27 minutes played.
After being brought down by a clumsy challenge from Lucas Paqueta, regular penalty-taker Saka allowed Ødegaard to tuck home from the spot – a strike that kicked off a six-minute flurry of goals.
The game looked to be over as a contest when Max Kilman missed an interception, allowing Kai Havertz to slot home calmly, but West Ham responded almost immediately with their first genuine attack.
An incredible threaded ball from Carlos Soler found a usually goal-shy Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who sent a side-footed first-time finish past David Raya for his second goal this week. Caught cold, the visitors remarkably conceded again when Emerson Palmieri whipped an unstoppable free-kick in off the crossbar.
There was still time for a seventh first-half goal as Lukasz Fabianski’s punch caught Gabriel, and this time, Saka stepped up from 12 yards to restore his side’s three-goal advantage.
An electric first period was followed by a rather subdued second half, in large part, thanks to the stoppage-time goal that appeared to dampen the hosts’ revival.
In full control of the game, Mikel Arteta’s side kept West Ham at bay, with Tomas Soucek’s diving header comfortably dealt with by Raya in a half short on goalmouth action.
A late Raheem Sterling free-kick was as close as Arsenal came to adding to their lead, with substitute Danny Ings rounding Raya but missing the target when off-balance soon after.
Having breezed past Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal continued to fire on all fronts with an ultimately comfortable victory that sees them climb to second in the Premier League (PL) table, at least for the time being.
Meanwhile, the under-fire Julen Lopetegui had to watch from the stands as his side failed to compete for large parts of the match, leaving the Hammers 14th in the table, six points clear of the drop.