In front of their fans at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners knew that they could rein in the league leaders Liverpool, who travel to face the reigning champions Man City on Sunday afternoon. In the end, their dismal display might have decided the title race in favour of the Reds once and for all.
The squad's shortage of forwards felt as if it was a burden on the players, who hoarded control of the ball against their cross-capital rivals without the invention or the intention to break them down at will. The threat on the field was from Graham Potter's men, who were first to strike on the scoreboard.
Aaron wan-Bissaka broke forward on the right wing, whipped the ball around Riccardo Calafiori, and picked out Jarrod Bowen inside the six yard box to put the visitors in the lead in the 44th minute.
The start of the second half saw no improvement. Mohamed Kudus continued to torch the defence, fending off red shirts in the buildup to an Aaron Cresswell cross that Bowen nearly turned on target.
Kudus then committed Myles Lewis-Skelly to an error that killed more momentum. The 18-year-old dallied on the ball and tugged the forward to stop a transition. Though the referee gave him a yellow card, VAR upgraded the punishment and Arsenal were down a man as well as a goal by full time.
Here are our ratings for the performance of the players in this defeat:
Raya was unable to repel the only goal of the game. However, he left with a little pride in the final moments of the match as he outran and chopped around James Ward-Prowse to stop a second strike.
Jurrien Timber - 5
Timber pushed forward to try and help the attack, often popping up in more central areas of the pitch. However, the back five of West Ham stopped him from affecting the attack in a narrower position on an afternoon where the right back seemed to be out of sync with his more advanced teammates.
The Brazilian defender has been decisive in both boxes so many times this season, but he did not push the fine margins in favour of his team in this game. He was caught in the corridor of uncertainty for Bowen's goal before he skewed a shot off target from close range at the end of the second half.
Saliba is almost unstoppable on the floor but even he struggled to topple the physical presence of Kudus. But of all the defenders, he looked like the one who could come away with the most credit.
Riccardo Calafiori - 4
Calafiori earned his first league start for the team since the start of January and reflected some rust in his display off the ball. Wan-Bissaka beat him too easily down the line twice (including for the goal) and a lack of coordination at the far post with Gabriel gave Bowen the room to try and get his brace.
Thomas Partey - 5
It was a mixed bag from the Ghanaian midfielder. Partey pulled off a few terrific tackles at the point of breakaways but also allowed some transitions with heavy touches in the final third. Equally, his work with the ball was not always tight enough to support the rotations in the right-sided unit.
Declan Rice - 5
Rice rotated to the right side of the pitch effectively sometimes to offer an option ahead of Odegaard. But his all-action approach to the game did not offer much of an impact against his old club. The midfielder must also hold up his hands as Bowen drifted off his back to steer a header into the net.
Martin Odegaard - 4
In a time of need, Arsenal are crying out for the captain to carry the offense. But the orchestrator again appeared to be off rhythm. While he has never been a natural shooter of the ball, Odegaard's creative passing rarely revealed an open door: his short free kick to Saliba summed up a disappointing day.
As a 17-year-old, Nwaneri should not have to handle the burden of being a talisman. Indeed, he showed he is still growing in the men's game: there were flashes of his brilliance from the trip to Leicester, but his crossing was fruitless, and he rarely received the openings to shoot from range.
Merino made the difference last weekend, but he will not be the solution to all of Arsenal's issues. He put in a solid shift as the striker but was often a tad too late to deliveries across the face of the goal.
Trossard has been one of the better offensive performers in the absence of Bukayo Saka when he has played as the left winger. Once more, he looked bright, bringing the ball into the penalty area with smart shifts to cross around the outside of the defence without connecting with a red shirt.
Substitutes
Zinchenko has usually played as a left back but replaced Rice to go into the middle of the park. He did not sit in a deeper role to distribute the ball, breaking into the final third with little effect. Maybe it was a case of managing minutes for Rice, but the Ukrainians hardly had any impact in this clash.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 3
It was a lesson of not expecting too much too soon from the other Hale End academy graduate too. Lewis-Skelly has played with courage to break through pressure from the moment he arrived on the scene but on this occasion, he got it wrong and clipped Kudus as Arsenal went down to ten men.
Sterling stepped in for Nwaneri and immediately tried to take responsibility. However, he smashed a free kick into the wall and his display did not attract any more admirers in the Arsenal fanbase.
White made his return to the field for the first time since November. He brought a different dynamic with his classic overlaps on the outside which will be a welcome sight at the Emirates Stadium. He also almost marked the occasion with an injury time equalizer, driving a strike just wide of the mark
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