Arsenal completed a stunning second-half comeback to beat West Ham 3-1 at Emirates Stadium and go seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Said Benrahma stunned the league leaders by putting West Ham in front from the penalty spot after William Saliba’s foul on Jarrod Bowen but, after Arsenal had a penalty award of their own overturned by VAR in first-half stoppage time, Mikel Arteta’s men produced an emphatic response.
Bukayo Saka equalised in the 53rd minute when he coolly converted from Martin Odegaard’s mishit shot and Gabriel Martinelli fired past Lukasz Fabianski at the near post six minutes later.
Eddie Nketiah, starting at centre-forward in Gabriel Jesus’ injury absence, spun Thilo Kehrer to dispatch a wonderful third and open up a gap ahead of Newcastle in second. Champions Manchester City, who play Leeds on Wednesday, are eight points behind the Gunners with a game in hand.
Arsenal vs West Ham final score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Arsenal | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| West Ham | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Goals:
WHU — Said Benrahma (pen) — 27th minute.
ARS — Bukayo Saka —53rd minute.
ARS — Gabriel Martinelli —59th minute.
ARS — Eddie Nketiah —69th minute.
7️⃣ points clear at the top of the #PremierLeague table!
Arsenal come from behind to defeat West Ham in their first game after the #FIFAWorldCup break. #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/gUV6YcbcW2
— Sporting News Football Club (@sn_footballclub) December 26, 2022
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada
Saka picked up where he left off from a three-goal performance for England in the World Cup but his fourth-minute strike was ruled out because Odegaard’s pass clipped him on the heel before running to Nketiah in an offside position. The return pass was dispatched beyond Fabianski with aplomb before Saka’s celebrations were cut short.
West Ham’s only attacking joy had come from direct balls down the Arsenal left and the penalty arose from one of those situations. Jarrod Bowen tore onto Michail Antonio’s pass and, although it was hard to spot much contact from William Saliba, his rash challenge clearly impeded the West Ham forward. There was nothing rash about Benrahma’s finish.
Arsenal thought they had a route back into the match when Aaron Cresswell blocked Odegaard’s shot, but replays showed the ball struck his head as opposed to his hands and Michael Oliver overturned his penalty decision.
That incident briefly appeared to deflate the hosts and Antonio had a chance to make it 2-0 early in the second half. But Saka gave another demonstration of his improved finishing prowess and they never looked back.
A flowing move involving Saka, Odegaard and Granit Xhaka concluded with Martinelli thumping home, although Fabianski should have done better.
West Ham’s No.1 had no chance as his team were condemned to a fourth successive Premier League defeat, with Nketiah clipping a fine finish beyond him to crown a move that featured a marauding Ben White and the excellent Odegaard.
Missed us, Gooners? pic.twitter.com/Fk1xvl6kmH
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 26, 2022
Arsenal vs West Ham full commentary, highlights from Premier League
Fulltime: Arsenal were 1-0 down against the run of play and then started the second half poorly. Bukayo Saka’s equaliser carried a touch of fortune but from that point onwards they were absolutely sublime and West Ham could not deal with their relentless, varied attacks. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah meant all of the front three were on target in Gabriel Jesus’ injury absence. That feels like a really big win for Mikel Arteta’s team. The stuff of champions? Perhaps…
90th minute+4: West Ham have kept going to the end. Pablo Fornals, who has been lively since his introduction draws a save from the largely under-worked Aaron Ramsdale.
90th minute: Lucas Paqueta hits a hopeful long-rager into the stands. There’s a reason West Ham have only four goals away from home this season. There will be four additional minutes.
88th minute: A lot of the travelling West Ham contingent have made their way to the exits. They’ve given up on any Christmas miracle with a fourth consecutive Premier League loss on the cards. Fabio Vieira is on for goalscorer Gabriel Martinelli.
85th minute: A flying Craig Dawson block now thwarts Martin Odegaard, who again linked sublimely with Bukayo Saka. This has been a statement performance from Arsenal.
81st minute: Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is on for Kieran Tierney, exchanges passes to release Gabriel Martinelli, whose inviting cross flies across goal. As they have done tenaciously all night, Arsenal keep the attack going and Martin Odegaard curls another of those shots wide. He really deserves a goal.
78th minute: West Ham change, with Pablo Fornals coming on for Tomas Soucek.
76th minute: Granit Xhaka doesn’t think the wall is 10 yards back for this free-kick. As if to make his point, he lamps his shot straight into the waiting West Ham players. From the next passage of play, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard combine again for the Norwegian to curl wide.
74th minute: West Ham now having to open up a bit. They do so through Lucas Paqueta who finds Said Benrahma. The first-half goalscorer gets his feet whirring but the shot is way off target.
69th minute: GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! Eddie Nketiah!!!!!
Arsenal really turning it on now. Nketiah gets a huge goal for him and his team. Ben White coolly beats Said Benrahma and finds Martin Odegaard. He pops a pass in to Nketiah, who spins Thilo Kehrer far too easily before drilling a low finish across Lukasz Fabianski.
The turn, the finish! 😍
Eddie Nketiah provides the clinical finish to a beautifully worked goal 🙌#PLonPrime #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/xcmUi0RQGK
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 26, 2022
66th minute: West Ham enjoy a brief spell of possession, which Thilo Kehrer ruins by ballooning a shot from 35 yards into the stands.
63rd minute: The Emirates is rocking. Declan Rice gives a corner away under pressure and suddenly it feels like this one could run away from West Ham quite quickly. Craig Dawson boots clear from a poor Gabriel Martinelli corner.
59th minute: GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Gabriel Martinelli
Brilliant strength from Bukayo Saka, who bounces Declan Rice away from the ball. Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka are involved, with the latter working the ball to Martinelli. Vladimir Coufal is playing him onside because, apparently, that’s what he’s doing this half. The Brazil international drills a true strike to the near post and Lukasz Fabianski can’t stop it with his boot.
A quick-fire double from @Arsenal 🔥
The Gunners have come from behind to lead West Ham at the Emirates 💪#PLonPrime #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/E39f8An8T8
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 26, 2022
57th minute: The new sensible version of Granit Xhaka is all well and good, but this is what we love to see. Tomas Soucek tries to stop the Arsenal midfielder taking a quick free-kick, only to find himself basically groped to release the ball. Lucas Paqueta stands in from of him, so Xhaka boots it at the Brazilian and plays on. Play moves on and Soucek gives him a shove.
53rd minute: GOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!! Bukayo Saka!!!!
Martin Odegaard has done so many beautiful things in possession tonight. He sets up the goal by horribly dragging a shot straight at Saka. The England winger does well to control the ball and Vladimir Coufal is loitering to play him onside for a cool finish. It had been a pretty poor start to the half for Arsenal and that’s a huge shot in the arm for them.
Arsenal are back on level terms in unusual circumstances 😅
Martin Odegaard’s mis-hit shot falls the way of Bukayo Saka who makes no mistake 👊#PLonPrime #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/LtQnznp3cL
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 26, 2022
50th minute: Kieran Tierney goes down after an aerial challenge from Jarrod Bowen. Mikel Arteta is seething and the West Ham forward has already been booked. But that feels like a bit of the Arsenal defender and manager trying it on. Bowen has been booked but was simply up first and that was no more than a collision. Also, given the way Tierney has been defending Bowen this evening, he probably wants the Scotland international to stick around.
47th minute: It might take a bit of magic for Arsenal and here’s Thomas Partey, spearing a shot from more than 25 yards. It might not be going in but Lukasz Fabianski can’t take any chances and turns behind. The West Ham goalkeeper is fouled from Bukayo Saka’s in-swinging corner.
46th minute: Back underway and West Ham are in! Again it’s poor defending from Arsenal down their left flank as Michail Antonio trundles in towards goal. Enough bodies get back so he can only fire a shot towards the near post that Aaron Ramsdale saved. They might have been left with a mountain to climb there.
Halftime: Boos for the officials from the Emirates faithful. But, put bluntly, West Ham’s penalty that was upheld was a penalty and Arsenal’s one just now that was overturned wasn’t. Arsenal do not deserve to be behind here. All of which amounts to a pretty solid test of their title credentials. Join us back here in 10 minutes – eat some more food, if you must – to find out how they get on.
48th minute+5: Overturned! A textbook example of exactly what VAR is there for. Michael Oliver had an absolute shocker there and his mates at Stockley Park have bailed him out.
48th minute+3: Penalty to Arsenal!! But this is surely going to be overturned because it looks for all the world that Martin Odegaard’s shot hit Aaron Creswell in the head. Creswell’s hands were up but the ball did not make contact.
45th minute: Vladimir Coufal is into the book for a meaty follow-through on Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazil winger’s delivery is excellent from the free-kick, it glances off a West Ham defender but Eddie Nketiah is a little too flat-footed to capitalise. There will be three minutes of injury time.
42nd minute: Excellent touch and turn from Eddie Nketiah on the edge of the West Ham box and Thilo Kehrer produces a tackle to match. The ball then falls to Gabriel Martinelli, whose cross is absolutely rubbish and boomed way over everybody.
40th minute: West Ham are falling very, very deep. Lucas Paqueta wins a free-kick to earn them some respite and looks for Michail Antonio with a clever pass over the top. He shoots high and wide but that was slack from Arsenal.
38th minute: Eddie Nketiah has a shot blocked after some more sparkling interplay from Bukayo Saaka and Martin Odegaard. If Arsenal are to get a route back into this game you imagine it will come from those two.
34th minute: Eddie Nketiah benefits from a slip in the West Ham defence but he’s just unable to find the pass to Bukayo Saka.
32nd minute: Arsenal have responded by once again hogging possession, but this will be a real test of their cutting edge without the injured Gabriel Jesus.
West Ham strike first against the league leaders 💥
Saïd Benrahma makes no mistake from the spot 🧊#PLonPrime #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/jZmD9Byrze
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 26, 2022
27th minute: GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Said Benrahma
Cool as you like. Ramsdale tumbles to his left and Benrahma lifts his kick down the middle. That’s against the run of play but David Moyes and his team will not care a jot.
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 26, 2022
26th minute: Penalty given. Said Benrahma to take.
24th minute: Penalty to West Ham! Again the long ball to the right flank causes problems for Arsenal. Michail Antonio lays it off to Jarrod Boweb. William Saliba dives in but contact looks minimal.
22nd minute: Aaron Ramsdale’s throw is brilliant to get Arsenal moving and Eddie Nketiah gets a chance to run at a backpedalling defence. Craig Dawson stands his ground well to make the tackle.
21st minute: Now a West Ham corner, after Jarrod Bowen again proved to be an outlet and Ben White cleared his cross behind. Aaron Cresswell’s delivery was knocked behind at the near post, he gets another go. The corner is half-cleared to Said Benrahma and it’s a routine save for Aaron Ramsdale.
19th minute: Granit Xhaka releases Ben White down the right. His low cross is cleared behind. Bukayo Saka boots the corner right under Lukasz Fabianski’s bar but the West Ham goalkeeper gets a solid punch on it.
18th minute: In a scene perhaps played out numerous times in England training over the past month, Bukayo Saka wriggles into the West Ham box but Declan Rice gets back to make a perfectly timed tackle.
15th minute: Twinkle-toed dribble by Martin Odegaard, who just can’t pick the pass inside a crowded West Ham penalty area. It’s really been a lovely quarter of an hour from the Norway playmaker.
Odegaard playing some fine passes already 👏 pic.twitter.com/797K8bZHla
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 26, 2022
13th minute: Lovely play again from Martin Odegaard, who finds Granit Xhaka with a cute reverse pass. There’s space for Xhaka to shoot but it’s on his weaker right foot and Lukasz Fabianski deals with it unfussily.
11th minute: Belatedly some attacking threat from West Ham as Jarrod Bowen finds some space down the right. His low cross is not dealt with entirely convincingly by Aaron Ramsdale.
8th minute: So, West Ham might still be just about on terms but they’re being pegged back relentlessly by Arsenal. Jarrod Bowen is booked for a foul on Gabriel Martinelli, whose freekick from the left is cleared.
5th minute: You know what, we’re quick to lambast officials but that was a fantastic spot by the assistant. Eddie Nketiah was not offside when Martin Odegaard played his throughball, but the pass clipped off Bukayo Saka’s heel, by which point Nketiah had strayed past the last man to lay it back to the England man to finish.
4th minute: Bukayo Saka blasts past Lukasz Fabianski but the flag is up for offside. It’ll be checked
1st minute: Arsenal begin on the front foot, Martin Odegaard gliding through midfield in his regal style. Gabriel Martinelli has a cross blocked.
2 mins from kickoff: We’ve just had some pre-match tributes to George Cohen, England’s World Cup-winning fullback who died last week.
5 mins from kickoff: The teams are in the tunnel. Arsenal are in very fetching jackets that would probably be more suited to Crystal Palace. Declan Rice looks fresh and relaxed. Here they come…
10 mins from kickoff: Thierry Henry is covering the match as a pundit tonight. Bukayo Saka just went over to give the Arsenal great a hug. This after his adorably polite request for a picture at the World Cup.
A very shy Bukayo Saka asking David Beckham for a picture during the England icon’s visit to their World Cup training base in Qatar recently. ❤️ #afc pic.twitter.com/2zj9CxgVpS
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) December 6, 2022
30 mins from kickoff: Liverpool have wrapped up a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in an entertaining contest at Villa Park. Here’s how all that went down.
✅✅✅ Liverpool win three #PremierLeague games in a row! pic.twitter.com/vLy0NMubu5
— Sporting News Football Club (@sn_footballclub) December 26, 2022
40 mins from kickoff: It’s obviously going to be interesting to see how all the World Cup players in action pull up here. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said last week that those players of his who had been in Qatar were in better match rhythm than their teammates who enjoyed a mid-season break. Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta all had fine tournaments, so are they going to hit the ground running?
55 mins from kickoff: Here’s the West Ham XI. Declan Rice starts as captain.
Your Irons ⚒️#ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/OZd7Yoxr8J
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 26, 2022
1 hr from kickoff: The teams are in. William Saliba starts for Arsenal. He was part of the France squad that played in the World Cup final eight days ago, albeit only playing 27 minutes in the whole tournament. Kieran Tierney is fit, which means the Arsenal back four is a good deal stronger than we might have expected.
Introducing our starting XI…
🇫🇷 William Saliba starts
🏴 @Kierantierney1 at left back
🏴 @EddieNketiah9 in attackCOME ON YOU GUNNERS! ✊ pic.twitter.com/KpytsFQ9wF
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 26, 2022
1 hr 30 mins from kickoff: West Ham are seeking to avoid a fourth consecutive Premier League defence. Will England star Declan Rice be back for the Boxing Day action? Team news is about half an hour away.
1 hr 50 mins from kickoff: Not to horribly puncture all the enthusiasm around Arsenal, but…
5 – Arsenal have failed to win the top-flight on each of the last five occasions that they’ve been top of the table on Christmas Day:
1951-52 (finished 3rd)
1986-87 (finished 4th)
1989-90 (finished 4th)
2002-03 (finished 2nd)
2007-08 (finished 3rd)Humbug. pic.twitter.com/qthpsSmsFm
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 25, 2022
2 hrs 20 mins from kickoff: It’s been an action-packed Boxing Day in the Premier League so far, with plenty of the seasonal merriment to enjoy. Liverpool have just taken the lead at Aston Villa thanks to a wonderfully worked Mohamed Salah goal. You can follow all of the action from Villa Park with my colleague David Lynch here.
2 hrs 40 mins from kickoff: Eddie Nketiah’s three goals this season have all come in cup competitions but the backup striker will probably have a chance to shine tonight after Gabriel Jesus underwent knee surgery. With Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhailo Mudryk and others reportedly on Arsenal’s January shopping list, Nketiah might have a limited window in which to impress.
3 hrs from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ coverage of Arsenal and West Ham’s return to Premier League action following the 2022 FIFA World Cup!
With Manchester City waiting until Wednesday to visit Leeds, tonight’s hosts have the chance to move eight points clear of the reigning champions at the top of the table ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Brighton and tough-looking January fixtures against Newcastle United, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
West Ham’s worries of a relegation battle have been worsened by their miserable form on the road. The Hammers have lost five and won one of their seven top-flight away games this season If they lose tonight, it would be the first time they have lost four league games in a row since the start of the 2018/19 season.
Arsenal vs West Ham lineups
Arsenal’s main post-World Cup injury issue is Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian international set to miss at least two months following knee surgery.
Eddie Nketiah starts in his place, while Kieran Tierney has shaken off a knock to start at left-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko is on the bench.
Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Ramsdale (GK) — White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney — Xhaka, Partey, Odegaard — Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
Nayef Aguerd is out for West Ham as he aggravated an ongoing hip issue while away with Morocco at the World Cup, but Michail Antonio has been passed fit to start. He will be supported by Lucas Paqueta, who is ready to feature from the off despite his exertions for Brazil in Qatar.
West Ham XI (4-2-3-1): Fabianski (GK) — Coufal, Kehrer, Dawson, Cresswell — Rice, Soucek — Benrahma, Paqueta, Bowen — Antonio
What time is Arsenal vs West Ham?
This Premier League clash will kick off at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, December 26 at 8 p.m. local time. Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Kickoff time | |
| USA | 15:00 ET |
| Canada | 15:00 ET |
| UK | 20:00 GMT |
| Australia | 07:00 AEDT* |
| India | 01:30 IST* |
| Hong Kong | 04:00 HKT* |
| Malaysia | 04:00 MYT* |
| Singapore | 04:00 SGT* |
| New Zealand | 09:00 NZDT* |
*Game starts on December 27 in these time zones
Arsenal vs West Ham live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Telemundo | fuboTV, Peacock |
| Canada | — | fuboTV Canada |
| UK | — | Amazon Prime |
| Australia | Optus Sport 1 | Optus Sport |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sports |
| India | — | Star Sports Select |
| Hong Kong | — | now TV |
| Malaysia | — | Super Sport |
| Singapore | — | StarHub TV+ |
UK: Matches are usually carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, but this round of matches are available exclusively via Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service.
USA: The match will be televised on Telemundo (Spanish-language), and that broadcast can be streamed on fuboTV. It will be streamed in English on Peacock.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
