Declan Rice came back to haunt West Ham once again as the former Hammer opened the scoring against his old club to help Arsenal to a 2-0 victory which sent them to the top of the Premier League table. Bukayo Saka was also on target but there was to be more injury agony for Martin Odegaard, as he once again had to leave the pitch prematurely in what’s proving to be a bit of a nightmare start to the season on a personal level.
Rice, who has already found the net against his former employers once since switching east London for north London was at it again this afternoon, firing home from close range to break the visitors’ first-half resistance after Alphonse Areola had kept out Jurrien Timber’s strike.
It was a crucial goal for Mikel Arteta’s side, who went on to make the game safe after the interval when Saka struck from the penalty spot following a foul on Timber.
Saka’s spot-kick sealed a routine win for the Gunners, but there was some disappointment as they lost captain Odegaard to a knee injury early on, with the Arsenal skipper becoming the first player in Premier League history to be substituted before half-time in three consecutive starts.
GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from Emirates Stadium…