Arsenal turned on the style at the London Stadium as they ran out 5-2 victors over West Ham United in the Premier League.
It was the first half where the Gunners did all the damage as Gabriel Magalhães opened the scoring with yet another header from a Bukayo Saka corner, a combination which has caused many problems for opposing teams.
The visitors then scored three goals in the space of nine minutes towards the end of the half, with Leandro Trossard, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz all getting their names on the scoresheet in what was proving to be a memorable day for Arsenal.
Despite being overrun from the first whistle, West Ham got themselves back into the game when Aaron Wan-Bissaka beat David Raya from close range, before a brilliant free-kick from Emerson Palmieri gave the home fans renewed hope of an unlikely comeback.
Unfortunately for them, those hopes were soon tarnished when Saka scored Arsenal's fifth goal from the penalty spot to cap off a breathless first half which saw seven goals.
The hosts were able to stop the leak of goals in the second half, but the Gunners were able to ease to a comfortable 5-2 win and climbed up to second in the Premier League table, closing the gap on league leaders Liverpool to six points.
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Story of the Match
After West Ham's impressive 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Monday night, Julen Lopetegui named the same starting lineup against Arsenal in the hope of winning back-to-back league games for the first time this season.
While the Spaniard was made to watch the match from the stands after picking up his third yellow card of the season, the Hammers welcomed Edson Álvarez back from suspension with the Mexican starting on the bench.
As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta made two changes to the side that beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday, with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz returning to the starting lineup in place of Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus.
After their slight hiccup before the international break which saw them win one in five matches, Arsenal came into the game full of confidence after rediscovering their form with back-to-back wins over Nottingham Forest and Sporting CP, and knew that a win over the Hammers would see them climb to second in the Premier League table.
Saka and Gabriel strike early
The visitors dominated the early stages of the match, and were duly rewarded in the 10th minute with the opening goal.
It was the deadly combination of Saka and Gabriel from a corner which proved effective once again as the Brazilian was able to head home from a well-worked corner routine to score his third Premier League goal of the season.
West Ham were struggling to get out of their own half, although they thought they had equalised against the run of play when Crysencio Summerville was played through on goal and delicately chipped the ball over Raya.
Unfortunately for him and his side, their joy was short-lived as the linesman raised his flag for offside, and they instead found themselves 2-0 behind just moments later.
Some brilliant link-up play between Saka and Ødegaard on the edge of the penalty area saw the Englishman played through on goal, before he unselfishly squared the ball to Trossard who tapped the ball into an empty net and doubled Arsenal's lead.
It was not long before things went from bad to worse for Lopetegui's men as they conceded a penalty in the 32nd minute when Lucas Paquetá brought down Saka in the box, with referee Anthony Taylor pointing to the spot without hesitation.
Saka handed the ball to Ødegaard, and the Norweigian made no mistake as he tucked the ball right into the corner to score his first goal of the season.
Arsenal were purring, and they capitalised on poor play from West Ham once again as found himself one-on-one with Łukasz Fabiański, before cooly slotting beyond the keeper to score his side's third goal in the space of nine minutes.
Arsenal were cruising and the first half could not have gone much worse for West Ham, although the home side finally showed signs of life towards the end of the half when Wan-Bissaka scored what appeared to be a mere consolation goal to make it 4-1.
But, Emerson gave the home fans further hope just minutes later after beating Raya with a beautiful free-kick from the edge of the area to half the deficit.
Despite being 4-2 down, the home fans finally had something to cheer about and felt they were back in the game, although their hopes were once again dented in first-half stoppage time.
Fabiański went to punch the ball clear from a corner but instead found Gabriel's head with his fist, with Taylor once again awarding Arsenal a penalty.
This time it was Saka who stepped up and whilst Fabiański got a hand to the ball, he could not keep it out as the winger got his name on the scoresheet to go with his three assists in the first half, sending Arsenal into the half-time break with a 5-2 lead.
Arsenal cruise through the second half
Both sides made a change at half-time with Arteta bringing off Gabriel in place of Jakub Kiwior, whilst the hosts brought on Álvarez for Summerville in an attempt to solidify the midfield which had been overrun in the opening 45 minutes.
Although West Ham continued to soak up large spells of pressure, they were able to stop the leak of goals in the second half as they limited Arsenal to very few openings.
With the game done and dusted, Arteta likely had one eye on Arsenal's upcoming clash against Manchester United on Wednesday night as he opted to substitute Arsenal's biggest attacking threats in Saka and Ødegaard with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Neither side threatened a goal in the second half as the Gunners eased to a comfortable 5-2 win at the London Stadium.
The win means Arsenal now sit in second place in the Premier League table and have closed the gap on the league leaders, Liverpool, to six points, with the Reds set to take on Manchester City on Sunday.
While the Gunners sit six points off the league leaders, West Ham now sit six points off the relegation zone at the opposite end of the table in 14th place, and they will be eager to rectify their heavy defeat to Arsenal when they take on Leicester City on Tuesday night.
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Player of the Match - Bukayo Saka
Saka has been on fire in recent weeks after registering a goal and an assist in both of Arsenal's matches against Nottingham Forest and Sporting CP, and he continued that rich vein of form against West Ham.
The Hammers could not contain him in the first half as he assisted both of Arsenal's opening two goals, won his team a penalty which made it 3-0, and then got his name on the scoresheet on the stroke of half-time after beating Fabiański from the penalty spot.
Whilst he was not as threatening in what was an uneventful second half, the winger will still be very happy with his showing on what proved to be a memorable night for the Gunners in east London.
