Online Reporter
DECLAN RICE scored his first goal of the season before Bukayo Saka added a second as Arsenal comfortably beat West Ham in manager Mikel Arteta’s 300th game in charge.
Arsenal have had an excellent start to the season, losing just one game, and Arteta looked to ensure that continued with his attacking selection.
The Arsenal manager named a midfield three of Rice, Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze as he utilised the options in his squad after a £250m spend in the summer.
However, that trio did not last long, with Odegaard having to go off with an injury, the third Premier League home game in a row that he has been withdrawn early.
Rice was then pushed into a more advanced role as Martin Zubimendi was brought on, and the former West Ham midfielder was on hand to finish smartly after Eze’s shot was pushed back into the area by Alphonse Areola.
Arsenal dominated the majority of the game, with West Ham restricted to speculative efforts whenever they got the rare chance to attack.
The Gunners sealed the win in the second half when Jurrien Timber was brought down by El Hadji Malick Diouf and Saka slotted the penalty confidently into the corner.
It was a great way for Saka to mark his 200th Premier League appearance and means that his impressive record now stands at 55 goals and 45 assists.
The win temporarily moved Arsenal to the top of the Premier League, supplanting Liverpool prior to their match against Chelsea later on.
Mikel Arteta has been criticised at times for his conservative team selection but there was no possibility of that happening yesterday.
Arteta may not have been able to see how his midfield selection would have played out after Odegaard’s withdrawal 30 minutes into the game, but his pre-match choices show the mentality at Arsenal this season.
Riccardo Calafiori was given licence to come into midfield alongside the deep-lying Rice to allow Eze and Odegaard to push further up the pitch. This continued when the excellent Zubimendi was introduced and two of his forward passes played a big part in the Arsenal goals.
Rice showed with his goal why the transition from a number six to a number eight has been made. His running power and ability to time his runs to get on the end of balls was shown with his goal.
Elsewhere, under-pressure Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim marked his 50th game in charge with a crucial victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Mason Mount gave the hosts a perfect start with a well-taken goal after just eight minutes.
It was the earliest United had scored in the Premier League since Marcus Rashford’s second-minute effort at Ipswich in Amorim’s first game last November.
Benjamin Sesko doubled the home side’s lead with a close-range finish for his second goal in as many games, while United’s first clean sheet of the season was Amorim’s reward for handing a debut to £18,1m goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
Sunderland were awarded a penalty just before half-time but it was overturned after a video assistant referee (VAR) check confirmed Sesko did not catch Trai Hume in the face with a high boot, as initially thought.
In a tenure littered with negative statistics, Amorim finally has some positive ones to look back on as United recorded a third-straight home win for the first time in over two years.
They have lost just once at home to Sunderland in 31 meetings and Amorim becomes the first United boss since Sir Alex Ferguson to win his 50th game at the helm.
It was enough for the home fans to go through a rendition of their catchy ‘Ruben Amorim’ tribute song which, amid such intense scrutiny over his longevity at Old Trafford, must at least have been some comfort for the Portuguese coach.
After leaving Lammens on the bench for the first three games since his deadline-day move from Royal Antwerp, Amorim finally decided it was time to put the Belgian into the Premier League fray ahead of Altay Bayindir. — BBC
Results and Fixtures
Leeds 1-2 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Manchester Utd 2-0 Sunderland
Chelsea v Liverpool (Played late)
Fixtures
Aston Villa v Burnley 3pm
Everton v Crystal Palace 3pm
Newcastle v Nottingham 3pm
Wolves v Brighton 3pm
Brentford v Man City 5.30pm
