West Ham vs Arsenal stats and analysis

Arsenal took a monumental leap toward the Premier League title with a hard-fought 1-0 win away at relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday. In a London derby full of tension and circumstance at both ends of the table, it took until the 83rd minute for Leandro Trossard to deliver his first goal of 2026, firing a deflected effort beyond Mads Hermansen. As closely fought as it was, this result has opened up huge gaps in the title and relegation battles, and could go down as the key match of 2025-26. Three key moments put one Arsenal hand on the title “There’s always one of these, just get over the line,” Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville said during the second half of this most tense of matches. At the point at which he said that, Arsenal were toiling, struggling to break down a stubborn West Ham defence, while coming under immense pressure themselves. “There’s always one of those as well,” Neville added when David Raya made a sprawling one-on-one save to deny Mateus Fernandes in the 78th minute. Not five minutes later, the Gunners were ahead and five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with Trossard sweeping home after excellent work from Martin Odegaard, who changed the game when he came on just after the hour. Arsenal then survived a scare right at the death as Callum Wilson’s last-gasp equaliser was disallowed after VAR review, with Pablo pulling the shirt of Raya. And right there, we may just have seen an entire season condensed down into three moments: a key save from arguably the Premier League’s best goalkeeper right now at one end, a goal from an underrated squad member struggling for consistency at the other, and a little help from VAR at the end. Manchester City can reapply pressure in their game in hand at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday. However, under a red-hot spotlight, Arsenal proved their title credentials to the fullest at the London Stadium on Sunday. It’s Mikel Arteta’s for the taking. Hammer blow leaves brave West Ham on the brink By contrast, this result will come as an absolute gut punch for West Ham. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men really didn’t do much wrong here. They fought for every second ball, ran up ridiculous defensive numbers (15 tackles, 25 clearances, seven blocks, for example), and had 99.99% of Arsenal fans hiding behind the sofa with some very considerable chances of their own. All that was missing was the final touch. A little bit of luck here, Tomas Soucek’s deflection of Trossard’s shot going in a different direction there. Not to mention Gabriel’s heroic leg stuck out to block Callum Wilson’s shot in second-half stoppage time, or the heartbreaking disallowing of Wilson’s equaliser from the resulting corner after VAR spotted a foul on Raya. The Hammers really did throw everything at this. And yet, the cold hard reality is that, with two games to go, West Ham are rooted in the bottom three. Tottenham Hotspur host Leeds United on Monday night, and a win there will move Spurs four points clear. In short, West Ham’s destiny is excruciatingly out of their own hands. They must go to Newcastle United and win. Then, they must beat Leeds at home. And even that might not be enough to send this proud club, with their 62,500-capacity stadium, back into the second tier.