Bowen earns West Ham draw and hurts Arsenal’s title bid after Saka miss

If Arsenal’s wait for the Premier League title is to extend beyond the end of the season, this will go down as the day when their challenge faltered. After last Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Liverpool, the coaching staff had been happy with the point, even if they accepted that the game management had to improve. There were not so many ‘what ifs?’ – even though they had led 2-0.

It was an entirely different feeling here. This was a game that Arsenal had in the palm of their hand, initially after they surged into an early 2-0 lead; at that point, the natives were restless in the London Stadium, Arsenal’s superiority pronounced.

Then, at 2-1 early in the second half, Arsenal did so again, Bukayo Saka standing over a penalty. The club’s player of the season had not missed from the spot since his notorious fail for England in the Euro 2020 final shootout loss to Italy but here his nerve deserted him, his kick steered off target.

How West Ham made him and Arsenal pay. David Moyes’s team – for whom the point and overall performance was huge in their relegation battle – turned the game on its head when Saïd Benrahma scored for 2-1 from the penalty spot on 33 minutes.

Thereafter, Arsenal simply lost their conviction. It is difficult to remember them playing so aimlessly over a period for as long as 60 minutes or so and West Ham were full value for their point, which was secured by Jarrod Bowen’s fine volley.

Arsenal had entered with an enviable derby record for the season; nine wins and a draw out of 10. This was the day when it all went wrong, their early excellence nothing more than a memory.

West Ham’s physical commitment was there throughout and they looked up for it at the start, winning a few one-on-ones, Declan Rice prominent.