Arsenal enjoyed an emphatic win against West Ham United in their Wednesday night Premier League clash.
The Gunners were the more dangerous side from start to finish, dominating the lion’s share of possession in the first half but were unable to break down the Hammers, with centre-half Craig Dawson delivering an excellent display at the back.
However, the home side eventually broke the deadlock through young forward Gabriel Martinelli, who provided a sublime finish after the break when captain for the night Alexandre Lacazette had found him with a pin-point through ball.
Lacazette had the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot after Vladimir Coufal was controversially adjudged to have fouled the Frenchman in the box, receiving his marching orders after referee Anthony Taylor handed him a second yellow card for his troubles.
However, the former Lyon frontman was unable to convert from the spot as former Arsenal goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski provided a brilliant stop to deny his old side from six yards.
Eventually, English playmaker Emile Smith Rowe was able to wrap up the game, finishing into the bottom corner after fellow-Hale End academy graduate Bukayo Saka had set him up moments after Mikel Arteta was seen yelling something at the aforementioned Martinelli.
The Brazilian had gone down with a cramp, rolling off the pitch before his manager urged him to roll back onto the field.
Speaking about the incident after the game, Martinelli joked: “Yeah, he says, ‘come on, let’s go.’ This is a team and I want to play every time and yeah I am so happy like I said.”
Arteta also had his say on the matter, admitting that he was desperate for his side to focus on securing all three points.
“No [I wasn’t having any of it] because you have the cramp, go… you are off [the pitch], or you are in,” he told BT Sport.
“No treatment in that moment. We needed to stay on the game and stay focused to win it.”