Arsenal missed out on the chance to return to the Premier League summit on Thursday, losing 2-0 to West Ham as Tottenham went down in a six-goal thriller at Brighton.
Mikel Arteta's Gunners were top of the tree at Christmas for a second successive year but trail leaders Liverpool by two points at the halfway point of the season.
Last year's runners-up dominated possession at the Emirates but lacked a cutting edge against the disciplined visitors, for whom Tomas Soucek and former Arsenal player Konstantinos Mavropanos scored the goals.
Soucek opened the scoring from close range in the 13th minute following a pass from Jarrod Bowen, with the goal confirmed after a lengthy VAR check looking into whether the ball had gone out of play.
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