No Aubameyang, no problem as commanding Arsenal beat West Ham United to enter top 4

Arsenal played one of their best games of the season when they faced West Ham United in the Premier League on Wednesday evening at the Emirates Stadium. After back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Everton, the Gunners have upped their game.

Mikel Arteta’s side have had a very tumultuous week, dominated by talks surrounding their decision to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the club captaincy. However, Arsenal managed to put everything behind them, and delivered a near-perfect performance against West Ham at the Emirates.

The Gunners controlled the game for large swathes, and were rewarded for their dominance, beating the Hammers 2-0.

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Commanding Gunners move into top four

If there’s any side in the Premier League that should not be messed with this season, it’s certainly West Ham. David Moyes’ side have beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, in what has been a great season so far for them.

However, they were made to look ordinary by Arsenal. The Gunners completely dominated the game, with Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe scoring either side of the interval.

Arteta’s side restricted the Hammers to just one shot on target, while enjoying 57 percent of possession. It was a dominant performance from the Gunners, and they absolutely deserved to win on the night.

The result also sees Arsenal move into the Premier League’s top four for the first time in almost two years. Now, though, the bigger test will be whether they can keep producing such brilliant performances every week.

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No Aubameyang, no problem for Arsenal

There was a time when Arsenal struggled without Aubameyang, but the team did not miss the Gabonese striker on Thursday. The 32-year-old, aside from his disciplinary flaws, has been woefully out of form this term. He was wasteful in the games that he played in previous weeks.

Alexandre Lacazette came in and led the line well. Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Martinelli also terrorised the West Ham defence with their movements.

"They are really positive signs, but the way the team is playing, we have made progress, but there is still a lot to do,” Arteta said after the game, as quoted by Sky Sports.

“We had some bumps in the road, but we have learned a lot since then. We have had to stick together and have to stick together, the staff and the players.

The Arsenal manager noted that his team deserved to win on the night, saying in this regard:

"The players play for the club, with the pride and energy that we all expect from them; I was really happy, the focus they had, to play the game and put in a good performance. We had to play really well to beat West Ham, and I think we've done it."

It is unclear when Aubameyang will return to the team following his sanction for a disciplinary breach. What is evident, though, is that Arsenal can cope without him after how they went about their business against West Ham United.