ANGEL GABRIEL
No Auba... no issue as Martinelli and Emile dump Moyes’ men
WHO needs PierreEmerick Aubameyang? Not Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta stripped his skipper of the captaincy after a discipline breach and axed him from the squad.
But it seemed to light a fire under the Gunners who played with a desire and determination rarely seen at the Emirates this season.
Gabriel Martinelli put them in front after a dominant display against 10-man West Ham.
Vladimir Coufal was controversially sent off before Emile Smith Rowe put the gloss on their performance.
But it was Arsenal’s stand-in skipper Alexandre Lacazette who really stood out. The Frenchman made the opener and showed bags of character – even if he did miss a penalty.
And the result lifted the Gunners above Davie Moyes’ lacklustre West Ham into the top four.
Gunners scorer Martinelli said: “The win was so important for the team. We know the potential we have. It was a great victory.
“They were defending well and we were waiting for the moment. Thank you Laca for the assist!”
And Arteta said: “It was a great first goal. Gabriel is always a threat and his pace is really good for him to exploit. The second was good on the counter-attack.
“It’s a shame we miss a penalty in that moment as it would have given us more time to relax because you can’t against this team.”
It was lively from the start with Declan Rice and Coufal conceding free-kicks.
The Gunners wanted a penalty when Bukayo Saka went down but replays showed he’d kicked the back of Arthur Masuaku’s leg.
Martinelli saw a chance blocked by Craig Dawson and the follow-up from Lacazette. The Hammers were under siege until Pablo Fornals whipped one just wide from 25 yards.
For all their blood and thunder, it was only at the end of the half Arsenal looked like scoring.
Martin Odegaard’s effort was blocked by Dawson and Lukasz Fabianski’s fingertips nudged a Kieran Tierney follow-up off the bar.
The former Arsenal keeper then stopped Lacazette with a diving save before Dawson denied Martinelli on the rebound.
Moyes, who last night became only the fourth boss to take charge of 600 Premier League games, had to rally his troops at half-time.
But the Gunners’ opener came just after the break when Lacazette played a defence-splitting pass and Martinelli raced through to beat Fabianski.
Then came late drama when Coufal slid in to tackle Lacazette and Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot.
Video showed the Hammers full-back got the ball but also connected with the Frenchman’s shin. Coufal walked – though Fabianski saved Lacazette’s spot-kick.
But Arsenal got their deserved second when Smith Rowe’s left-footed shot found the bottom corner.