"Declan Rice, thank you", "Back to bottling again" - Fans on X react as Arsenal slump to surprise 2-0 loss against West Ham at The Emirates

Arsenal tripped up the title race as they suffered a disastrous 2-0 defeat to West Ham United tonight (December 28). The Gunners' first home loss of the season means Liverpool sit two points above them in first place.

The Hammers are becoming somewhat of a bogey team for Mikel Arteta's side. They knocked the north Londoners out of the Carabao Cup earlier this season and also earned a draw at the Emirates in the league last season.

David Moyes' men took the lead in the 12th minute, but in controversial fashion. Jarrod Bowen did well to keep the ball in play and he found Tomas Soucek who smashed home past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

However, VAR took a long hard look at the goal regarding Bowen keeping the ball in play. The decision that was taken was that there wasn't sufficient evidence to reverse the on-field decision and the goal was awarded.

The Gunners tried to react quickly and Bukayo Saka saw his close-range header denied by West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in the 30th minute. The woodwork then came to the visitors' rescue in the 42nd minute when Saka's right-footed effort hit the post.

Arteta wore a glum face as his side trudged off for halftime, it felt like it wasn't going to be one of those difficult nights. The hosts' job became even harder 10 minutes into the second half.

Konstantinos Mavropanos came back to haunt his former club when he buried a powerful header past Raya. It came from an excellent corner from the magnificent James Ward-Prowse.

Arsenal looked to get themselves back into the game and Gabriel Jesus wasted two golden opportunities in the space of a minute. His first headed attempt was directed straight at Areola in the 65th minute and he sent another over the bar a minute later.

The Gunners then desperately appealed for a penalty when Saka went down following a challenge from Angelo Ogbonna. But, the English winger went down rather easily and as a result, no penalty was awarded.

Rice's miserable night went from bad to worse in the 90+5th minute when he stretched to intercept Emerson Palmieri in his own box. Referee Michael Oliver had no choice but to point to the spot.

Said Benrahma wasted the chance to earn a famous 3-0 win for West Ham when his penalty was denied by Raya. It was somewhat relief for Rice but the former Hammers captain is certainly not enjoying facing his old club.

One fan mocked Rice after he gave away the penalty:

"Declan Rice, thank you."

Another fan thinks its a case of the same old story for Arteta's side:

"Arsenal back to bottling again. This is why you will never win the Champions League."

Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to a disappointing defeat for Arsenal against West Ham:

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Alan Shearer criticizes Arsenal duo Rice and Gabriel Maghalaes for their role in West Ham's opener

Jarrod Bowen got the better of his former teammate Declan Rice.

Bowen caused Arsenal all sorts of problems at the Emirates, particularly on the break. The England international was allowed to advance and assist Soucek to send the visitors on their way to victory.

Alan Shearer laid the blame for West Ham's opener on Rice and Gabriel Maghalaes' inability to deal with Bowen. He told Amazon Sport:

"Bowen is able to get in behind Rice and in front of Gabriel. He decided to mark the space instead of mark the man. There’s plenty to get stuck into despite whether the ball went out or not. If you look at Rice, he doesn’t know where Bowen is. Gabriel does know where Bowen is, and he can mark him, he should mark him in reality."

Bowen has been a nuisance for Premier League defenders throughout the season and he gave the Gunners defense problems throughout. Arsenal will likely argue that the ball was out of play but they weren't their usual selves in defense.