Mikel Arteta has described the first half of Arsenal‘s 5-2 win over West Ham as “crazy” after all seven goals were scored in the first 45 minutes of the game.
Arsenal raced into a 4-0 lead inside 36 minutes before being pegged back twice through goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson. Bukayo Saka slotted home a penalty in first-half stoppage-time to restore Arsenal’s three-goal lead.
Saturday’s game at the London Stadium tied the Premier League record for the most first-half goals in a match (seven). It is only the fourth time in history that seven goals have been scored in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match — the last occasion coming in Manchester United‘s 4-3 win over Reading in December 2012.
“I didn’t know that record,” Arteta said. “But it tells you how crazy it was, how efficient both teams were in front of goal. It was a spectacular 30 minutes and straight away [you could see] how much the team wanted it, the purpose, determination and quality that we deliver to score three great goals in different ways and then score the fourth one in a great way as well.
“But then after that, we had a period where the individual quality of them played a big part, 4-2 and then it is game on. You can sense the energy change and [you think] what’s next? It was great to score the fifth one because obviously that calmed everything down and in the second half we could play a very different game that was much suited for us.”
Arsenal took the lead after 10 minutes through Gabriel Magalhães‘ header before Leandro Trossard doubled the away side’s lead.
Martin Ødegaard‘s 34th-minute penalty extended their advantage and Kai Havertz struck two minutes later as some home fans headed for the exits.
However, Wan-Bissaka and Emerson‘s quickfire double — the latter a superb 25-yard free-kick crashed in off the underside of the crossbar — briefly restored hope only for West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to then foul Gabriel to give Saka the chance to complete the scoring.
The result means Arsenal end Saturday in second place with leaders Liverpool due to face defending champions Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.