- West Ham fell 4-0 down against Arsenal after just 36 minutes on Saturday
- The Gunners went on to win 5-2, with all of the goals coming before half-time
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Saturday night’s Premier League game between West Ham United and Arsenal delivered seven goals in the first half.
But thousands of Hammers fans missed three of them after heading for the exit en masse after seeing Arsenal go 4-0 up in the 36th minute.
This was a painful dose of deja vu for West Ham, who also fell 4-0 down before half-time in last season’s home game against Arsenal. That match ended 6-0.
A video taken from inside the London Stadium on Saturday captured the moment home fans staged a mass walkout shortly after Kai Havertz had found the net to score goal No 4.
Havertz’s goal followed strikes by Gabriel, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard.
The Hammers fans who stayed were briefly given a glimmer of hope as full backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson pulled two goals back for the home side.
Thousands of West Ham fans left early after their team went 4-0 down inside 36 minutes
Conversely, Arsenal fans at the London Stadium were loving life during a remarkable first half
But that hope evaporated in the fifth minute of first-half added time when Bukayo Saka became Arsenal’s fifth scorer of the evening.
Saka’s goal – like Odegaard’s – came from a penalty kick.
Some Hammers fans left more quietly than others, with footage emerging of a large fight breaking out in the home end moments before Wan-Bissaka’s goal.
Before Saturday, only three games in Premier League history had witnessed seven goals before half-time.
The first was Leeds United’s 4-3 win at Blackburn in 1997.
That was followed by Bradford’s 4-3 draw with Derby (4-3 at half-time) in April 2000, then Man United‘s 4-3 win at Reading in 2012.
Saturday’s struggles against Arsenal will heap pressure on Hammers manager Julen Lopetegui.
However, Lopetegui was not on the bench this weekend as he was serving a suspension after being shown three yellow cards during his team’s first 12 league games of the season.
Kai Havertz (centre) scored Arsenal’s fourth goal against West Ham on Saturday evening
Bukayo Saka was also one of five Arsenal scorers before half-time at the London Stadium
The second half on Saturday was much less eventual and no further goals were scored.
A 5-2 win for Arsenal took Mikel Arteta’s men up to second in the Premier League table.
It also saw the Gunners move to within six points of leaders Liverpool, who can regain their nine-point advantage by beating Man City on Sunday.
Defeat left West Ham 14th in the Premier League.
Only Wolves, Leicester and Southampton have conceded more top-flight goals than the Hammers this season.
Meanwhile, the only team to score more Premier League goals than Arsenal this season is Tottenham.
