Arsenal struggled for much of the match against relegation-threatened West Ham United but ultimately took the lead in the title showdown with Manchester City. Trossard secured the away win for the league leaders, who had to hold on for the finish.
Arsenal had regained the top spot following their recent 3-0 win over Fulham and Manchester City’s 3-3 slip-up at Everton earlier in the week. Additionally, Mikel Arteta’s team—which fielded an unchanged starting lineup—had gained a significant confidence boost just on Tuesday by reaching the Champions League final (1-0 against Atlético Madrid).
Against West Ham, who had started the matchday in 18th place, the Gunners began with verve and lived up to their role as favorites early on. After Mavropanos blocked Calafiori at the last second (8th minute), Trossard squandered a promising double chance just one minute later.
White injured and out – Taty misses chance to take the lead
Mavropanos was then in the spotlight again when he intervened just in time to block a header from Calafiori (22′). However, the dominant visitors suffered a setback when White had to leave the field after a collision (replaced by Zubimendi in the 28th minute).
The Hammers, on the other hand, rarely threatened offensively but grew increasingly confident and bold. This eventually led to their best chance, which Taty squandered with a header in a one-on-one with Raya (45th minute).
Arsenal struggling – Havertz comes on
With the exception of a few tentative attempts, West Ham managed to largely keep the Gunners’ offense in check after the restart. Even the fact that Arsenal had nearly 80 percent possession in the opening quarter of an hour of the second half did nothing to change that.
Despite their statistical advantages, Arteta’s men failed to display the desired dominance and appeared nervous at times. The team lacked depth in their play, a problem that even the substitutions of Ödegaard and Havertz (both in the 67th minute) initially failed to address.
Trossard scores to give the visitors the lead – VAR saves Arsenal
In fact, the visitors were lucky that Mateus Fernandes squandered a golden opportunity to put the Hammers ahead in the 78th minute. The Portuguese player failed to beat Raya in a one-on-one situation from close range. Trossard fared better at the other end, scoring the much-celebrated go-ahead goal for the visitors off an assist from Ödegaard (83′). For the Belgian, it was his first league goal of the 2026 calendar year.
Six minutes of stoppage time stood between Arsenal and extending their lead over second-place Man City—who must play catch-up against Crystal Palace on Wednesday (9 p.m.)—to five points, at least temporarily. This plan nearly fell through by a hair’s breadth, but due to a previous foul by Pablo on Raya, referee Christopher Kavanagh disallowed Wilson’s supposed equalizer (90’+4) after a several-minute VAR review.
For the Hammers, who narrowly missed out on a point, the fight to avoid relegation continues in the final two matchdays at Newcastle (Sunday, 6:30 p.m.) and against Leeds (May 24, 5 p.m.). The Gunners also won their fourth league game in a row and still have league matches against Burnley (Monday, 9 p.m.) and Crystal Palace before the Champions League final against Paris St. Germain (May 30, 6 p.m.).