Arsenal vs. West Ham United Match Report

It may be too soon to claim that Arsene Wenger's young lads are champions, but the last few games have certainly given the Arsenal faithful enough reasons to believe that after a long wait, silverware might just be within their grasp.

The undying optimism shown by the Arsenal squad and their distinct lack of willingness to give up under seemingly impossible situations sees them on top of the League Table with a comparatively easy run to the end of the season.

That never say die attitude was perfectly encapsulated by captain Cesc Fabregas and the Gunners on a night when they stood strong against a West Ham squad desperate for points despite being a man down. 

Things could not have been better for the Arsenal squad as the took control of the match right from kick-off. Denilson was quick to fire home a goal in the fifth minute and Arsenal looked ready to run away with the match.

West Ham found their feet though and created a couple of good chances before being awarded a free kick just outside the box on the 25th minute. Alessandro Diamanti's well struck free kick just failed to dip in behind Almunia.

Arsenal created several good chances thanks to Fabregas, Nasri, and Eboue but lack of a killer blow from Bendtner and Arshavin meant they could not add to the scoreboard.

Just shy of the break, Thomas Vermaelen was shown a straight red card for pulling down Guillermo Franco inside the box and the referee duly pointed to the spot. Arsene Wenger was furious in his protests and replays suggested that a straight red card might have been too harsh a punishment for the challenge.

Diamanti stepped up to take the penalty but his fierce shot to the right was wonderfully parried by Manuel Almunia who seemed to have taken a page from Emmanuel Eboue's book as he silenced critics with a consummate performance.

The second half seemed to begin well for the Hammers as Alex Song dropped down to central defence, replacing Vermaelen. West Ham took full advantage of being a man up and looked poised to get the equalizer.

Gianfranco Zola soon brought in Carlton Cole to replace Franco while Wenger responded by replacing Bendtner with Abou Diaby. Arsenal continued to retain possession but West Ham, now aided by Cole seemed ready to score as he blasted a shot which went past Almunia only to be deflected off the post.

With five minutes remaining, Arsenal made sure of the points when they were awarded a penalty. The impressive Eboue made a run to the box and passed to Fabregas who attempted to trick his way past Matthew Upson. The ball hit Upson's outstretched arm inside the box and even he did not protest when the referee blew his whistle.

Fabregas made no mistake pf the spot kick and Robert Green dived in the opposite direction as the entire stadium breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Arsenal are on top of the table for the moment and with both Manchester United and Chelsea having tricky fixtures on Sunday, it could well mean that Arsenal might retain their spot going into next week. With Tottenham and Manchester City being the only real challenges now, Arsenal still have a great chance of winning the title for the first time since their unbeaten season in 2003-04.