With 74 percent possession, with a siege as constant as it was ineffective throughout the match on the West Ham goal, with 30 shots, eight on target, Arsenal suffered a night of frustration, without success to defend the lead of the pressure exerted since Tuesday by Liverpool (0-2).
It was surpassed by the effectiveness of West Ham, who scored two goals in their only three shots on goal in the entire match, the last of which was a penalty saved by David Raya.
A demonstration of punch and practicality, started by Tomas Soucek, after a pass from Bowen, and culminated by a header from Mavropanos, to the center of Ward-Prowse, but also an expressive defensive resistance, to which Areola collaborated, indispensable, with three stops crucial, especially the first to Saka with only 0-1 in favor.
West Ham took the lead in the 13th minute. A loose rebound from Zinchenko, fortunate for the visiting team, fell to Bowen on the edge of the baseline to put the ball back in play for the arrival of Tomas Soucek, who finished off the goal. . The beginning of everything this Thursday at the Emirates stadium to relegate Arsenal from first position.
On some occasions, not even VAR is enough. No image called into question the legality of Bowen's previous cross, on the verge of being off-base, if it was not off by millimeters. There was no conclusive snapshot at the exact moment. At that moment, the ball was behind the forward's body, located on the line.
The goal, three minutes after the review, with the crowd shouting 'no goal' in the background, was validated, without anyone being sure whether it was or not. When in doubt, the goal was legal. A surprise at the Emirates stadium, due to the classification, but also because of what had been seen until then on the field, with Arsenal in siege mode almost from the beginning.
Needing a victory to retain the lead, after Liverpool's victory on Tuesday, Arsenal pressured, cornered, pushed their rival back, subjected them to constant stress before and after 0-1, but they stayed in just two shots between the three sticks, with a magnificent save from Areola to Saka, who also hit the post with a shot.
West Ham was always clear about it, retreating with 0-1 down, even before, with the Mexican Edson Álvarez attentive to everything, to every coverage, to every second play. It was his match. He had to hit on every occasion and endure everything else, every second of the offensive of the local block, which insisted, insisted and insisted among the group of players around their opponent's goal, who also took advantage of their next opportunity.
A corner kick is much more if the hit corresponds to Ward-Prowse. In an unparalleled setting, he gave his tenth assist of the season with a corner that hit Mavropanos' head. His header was equal to or better than the center. To the squad, far from David Raya's opposition, for the 0-2 in the 55th minute. The surprise already took on dimension.
Even more so, when their third approach was a penalty, committed by Declan Rice on Emerson. The maximum penalty was saved by David Raya.
And with the merit of the absence of Lucas Paquetá, injured in the warm-up and resistant until half an hour into the clash, when he had said enough, he threw himself on the ground and demanded the change.
