Alexandre Lacazette’s second half goal, given after a lengthy VAR check, saw Arsenal edge West Ham 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in Game Week 29. With Watford and Bournemouth both losing and Brighton drawing, the Hammers could’ve potentially gone as high as 14th with a win against the Gunners, but their poor record at the Emirates continued as they slumped to defeat despite a strong performance.

Here are our talking points from the game.

Smash and grab win for Arsenal: Arsenal had nearly 70% of the ball, but they were very ordinary here. The quality of West Ham’s chances were far superior, and the visitors had six shots on target as opposed to the Gunners’ two.

The Arsenal goal also had an element of luck- Aubameyang’s pass took a wicked deflection off Declan Rice and it wrong-footed the Hammers defence before falling to Mesut Ozil, who chested the ball down to Lacazette to slot home from close range. It was also Ozil’s first open play assist in more than a year!

Hammers squander chances: As mentioned above, West Ham created several clear cut chances. They had a 2 on 1 in the 10th minute, with Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller against David Luiz, but the French striker overran the ball. Another chance in the 18th minute saw Haller in a promising one on one with Bernd Leno, but the former’s first touch let him down. A third opportunity saw Diop’s header from a corner land at the feet of Antonio, but the striker inexplicably missed from point blank range. A fourth saw Antonio get a free header, but it was again squandered. [Read more…]

David Moyes will be looking for his first away win against Arsenal as a Premier League manager when his charges square off against the Gunners on Saturday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium. The hosts are managed by Mikel Arteta, whom Moyes coached as a player during his stint at Goodison Park.

Arsenal come into this game on the back of a win in the FA Cup against Portsmouth, while West Ham also registered an important victory last weekend against Southampton.

Here is a look at what the pundits have predicted for this Round 29 clash.

Mark Lawrenson: Lawro says it was “imperative” for West Ham to beat Southampton last weekend and that victory may have given them “something to build on”. Reckons that while West Ham have their issues, the Gunners are not entirely without problems either, and has predicted a 1-1 draw.

His celebrity opponent this weekend, singer Tom Grennan, expects this to be a goalless stalemate. [Read more…]