Arsenal's Premier League title hopes suffered a major setback as they fell to their first home league defeat of the season, losing 1-0 to West Ham United on Saturday.
Jarrod Bowen's header in the 44th minute proved decisive, with the forward converting Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross to secure a surprise victory for the visitors at the Emirates Stadium.
The result leaves Mikel Arteta's side eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who face Manchester City on Sunday.
The defeat was compounded by a red card to substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly, as Arsenal's title challenge took a significant blow.
Arsenal struggled to break down West Ham with several key attackers missing
Reuters
Arsenal struggled to show any attacking threat throughout the match, managing just two shots on target against a resilient West Ham defence.
The Gunners, missing several key forwards through injury including Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, failed to trouble visiting goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
Mikel Merino, leading the line in an unfamiliar striker role, was effectively contained by West Ham's defence and struggled to make an impact.
The hosts dominated possession but lacked the creativity needed to break down their London rivals, who moved 13 points clear of the relegation zone with the victory.
Lewis-Skelly's dismissal came in the 73rd minute, just 17 minutes after being introduced as a substitute.
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The young defender brought down Mohammed Kudus as the West Ham forward broke into Arsenal's half with goalkeeper David Raya well off his line.
Referee Craig Pawson initially showed a yellow card for the challenge, but changed his decision to a straight red after reviewing the incident on the VAR monitor.
The sending off, which left Arsenal with ten men for the final 20 minutes, marked Lewis-Skelly's second red card in recent weeks.
Arsenal's hopes of catching Liverpool at the top of the table now appear increasingly remote with just 12 rounds of fixtures remaining.
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The Gunners' defeat marked their first home Premier League loss of the season and leaves them with 53 points from 26 games.
For West Ham, Bowen's strike represented his 50th goal for the club, making him only the second player after Michail Antonio to reach that milestone.
The victory ended West Ham's run of four games without a win, with Graham Potter's side now sitting comfortably above the relegation battle in the Premier League table.
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