Four things learned as Arsenal thump West Ham 5-2 to pile pressure on Man City
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Arsenal had five different goalscorers in their emphatic away victory against West Ham to pick up a crucial three points at the top of the Premier League.
The packed festive schedule is set to challenge plenty of top sides with surprise results a regular occurrence at this stage of the season.
But the Gunners raced to a 4-0 lead inside 36 minutes against West Ham to put them in prime position to secure all three points.
However, quickfire goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri threatened a comeback for West Ham before Bukayo Saka's penalty in stoppage time of first half ended a frantic 45 minutes.
Bukayo Saka put in a stellar display
REUTERS
That goal took the sting out of the game in the second period as West Ham struggled to find the motivation to pull off a miraculous recovery while Arsenal were content with the lead they had.
Neither side were able to manage to add to the seven goals scored in the first half as Arsenal eventually ran out comfortable 5-2 winners.
GB News takes a look at four things learned from their second victory in successive league games.
Saka masterclass
The England international is enjoying yet another stellar campaign with teams struggling to keep the winger quiet.
Saka was at his scintillating best in the first half as he set up goals for Gabriel and Leandro Trossard before scoring from the spot himself.
He's proving more and more crucial to Arsenal's trophy aspirations every week with the Gunners struggling to get going if Saka is off form.
Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, those days are few and far between at the moment with Saka now up to 10 assists and five goals in 12 league appearances.
Defensive errors punished again
Where Arteta will have cause for concern though is Arsenal's current inability to keep a clean sheet.
While they were comfortable 3-0 winners against Nottingham Forest and their attacking prowess was on show against the Hammers, Arsenal put themselves in trouble with the two goals conceded in the first half.
They opened the season with three clean sheets in their opening four league games, but have only managed one in their last nine top flight fixtures.
Clean sheets are ultimately what prevent sides from losing games and Arsenal can't afford to drop points with Liverpool in top form at the moment.
Arsenal are up to second in the table
REUTERS
Momentum builder
Arsenal have dropped away from Liverpool in the table over the past few months after going through a four-game winless run in the league.
That could have easily derailed Arsenal heading into a hectic fixture schedule, but wins over Forest and West Ham with a thumping victory over Sporting Lisbon in Europe are exactly what they needed.
They host Manchester United on Wednesday before travelling to Fulham on Sunday. In total Arsenal will play seven matches in December, including one Champions League fixture and their Carabao Cup tie with Crystal Palace.
Picking up as many points as possible will be critical and six points from a possible six is a great start.
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Arsenal will need to rely on their squad depth in December
REUTERS
Squad depth
The festive schedule will also be a test of Arsenal's squad depth and they won't be able to rely on Saka or Martin Odegaard every game.
Players such as , Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling will need to step it up.
The latter two have scored just one goal each this campaign - something they will need to improve upon this coming month.
Failing to do so could easily see Arsenal fall out of the title race by the start of the New Year.
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