Arsenal title hopes hit in shock defeat by West Ham

LONDON : Arsenal's Premier League title hopes suffered a hammer blow when Jarrod Bowen's goal just before halftime gave London rivals West Ham United a surprise 1-0 away victory on Saturday.

Bowen headed in from close range in the 44th minute and Arsenal's feeble attack, missing a host of injured forwards, could not prevent a first home league defeat of the season.

Arsenal barely troubled visiting keeper Alphonse Areola, managing two shots on target, and played the last 20 minutes with 10 men after substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was red-carded for hauling down Mohammed Kudus.

Mikel Arteta's second-placed side have 53 points from 26 games and could find themselves 11 points behind leaders Liverpool if they win at champions Manchester City on Sunday.

Arsenal's last home league defeat came 10 months ago against Aston Villa and that ultimately proved decisive as they failed to prevent Manchester City winning a fourth successive title.

As their fans drifted out of the stadium on Saturday they surely felt as though another title bid will end in failure.

With Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka all out injured, makeshift forward Mikel Merino proved the unlikely solution last week with both goals in a 2-0 victory at Leicester City.

A week later Arsenal's attacking limitations were cruelly exposed as West Ham's defence enjoyed a stroll for most of the game on a balmy spring-like afternoon in north London.

"It's a big blow. The performance today wasn't good enough. Really disappointed," Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard said.

"We lacked a bit in final third efficiency. We have to see the game back and analyse it but it wasn't good enough."

THUNDEROUS SHOT

Arsenal could have cut Liverpool's lead to five points and