Alexandre Lacazette’s late header rescued a point for Arsenal
Arsenal came from three goals down to rescue a point in a stunning game against London rivals West Ham in the Premier League.
The Hammers raced into a three-goal lead at London Stadium through Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek, who touched in a Michail Antonio header.
The visitors gave themselves hope when an Alexandre Lacazette effort went in off Soucek for an own goal just before half-time.
West Ham defender Craig Dawson turned in Arsenal full-back Calum Chambers’ low cross for another own goal in the 61st minute.
And Lacazette completed the comeback with a thumping header from Nicolas Pepe’s cross, before both sides had late chances to win the game.
The result leaves the Hammers two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea in fifth, while Arsenal move above Aston Villa into ninth.
Lacazette inspires comeback after desperate opening
Arsenal were second best in the first half and looked almost certain to lose further ground in the race for European places after a frantic opening.
At 3-0 down, they looked a beaten side but Lacazette inspired Mikel Arteta’s side to a point, hitting a volley which took a deflection off Soucek for Arsenal’s opener.
Lacazette saw his dinked attempt cleared off the line by Issa Diop seconds after the restart as the Gunners dominated in the second period.
After Dawson turned in Chambers’ cross to further cut the deficit, the France striker rose highest to level the game late on.
A defeat would have opened up a 10-point gap between the two sides and arguably end Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for a European competition through a top-six finish.
And while questions will be asked about their poor first-half performance, Arteta will take heart from his side’s superb reaction against a disciplined West Ham.
No win but Hammers still on course for Europe
Jesse Lingard has scored five goals in eight starts against Arsenal in all competitions
David Moyes’ Hammers looked certain to finish the day level on points with Chelsea with Lingard starring as they Hammers raced into a three-goal lead.
The Manchester United loanee opened the scoring with a stunning volley and just 98 seconds later set up Bowen with a quick free-kick, as the winger’s strike went through Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno.
Soucek seemed to have given West Ham total control but even as Arsenal’s comeback picked up steam, the hosts created regular openings.
Antonio diverted Said Benrahma’s cross onto the base of the post and Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney blocked a goal-bound effort from Bowen with the score at 3-2.
West Ham have not finished above Arsenal in the league since 1985-86, but remain seven points ahead of the Gunners.
A European place in any form would be a significant achievement for a club that finished only five points clear of the relegation zone last season. Despite the disappointment of dropping two points on Sunday, a top-four finish remains a possibility with nine games to go.
Another own goal double benefits Arsenal – the stats
- West Ham failed to win after being three goals ahead in a Premier League game for the first time since September 1998 (4-3 defeat against Wimbledon).
- This was the third time in the Premier League this season a team has led by three goals and failed to win (also West Brom 3-3 Chelsea and Spurs 3-3 West Ham) – the most instances in a single Premier League campaign since 2010-11 (also three).
- West Ham have only won one of their past 11 games against Arsenal in the league (D3 L7), failing to win any of their four meetings in the past two campaigns (D1 L3).
- This match against Arsenal (32 minutes) was the earliest from the start of a Premier League match that West Ham have scored three goals since May 2007 against Bolton (29 minutes).
- Jesse Lingard scored his fifth goal against Arsenal in all competitions – the most he has netted against any opponent in his professional career.
- West Ham are the first team to score two own goals in a single Premier League game since Swansea in January 2017, which was also against Arsenal.
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