West Ham vs Arsenal: 3 reasons why Gunners won the game

It seems Arsenal have done the impossible by winning a football game! A run of 9 winless matches in all competitions came to an end last night as the Gunners hit back after going a goal down before half time against West Ham United at the London Stadium to win the game by three goals to one.

7 points behind 4th-placed Chelsea, Arsenal have finally hit the right gear in their pursuit for a top-four finish this term and they will have to build on this big win when they host Pep Guardiola's Manchester City at the Emirates in a week's time.

This win could not have come at a better time for Arsenal. It is the first time since 2011 that Arsenal has won an away game after being a goal down at half-time, which suggests they might have got that "fight" back in them. A 10-min talk from Freddie Ljungberg was enough to get Arsenal the three points, but it will all go in vain if they cannot outperform Man City next week.

#3 Robust defensive performance from Calum Chambers and Sokratis

West Ham United v Arsenal FC - Premier League

Arsenal have been ridiculed all season for their terrible defence, however, it was not the case last night. An uncalled goal in the first half did not stop Arsenal from losing their focus, as Calum Chambers and Sokratis held the fort, allowing just 4 relatively easy shots on target for Bernd Leno to save.

Arsenal named Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney as their fullback pair for the game, but by the 30th-minute mark, it was Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac working down the flanks. An early injury for Bellerin whilst Tierney suffered a blow on his shoulder forced Ljungberg to make two early changes, but it did not change the complexion of the match as Kolasinac and Maitland Niles came out flying with their brilliant performances.

It was, overall, a very convincing defensive performance from the Gunners, and you do not hear that quite often nowadays. A 43rd-minute set-piece goal did have a mental impact on the players, but they outgrew it, something they will have to do consistently in the games to come.

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#2 Lucas Torreira ran the midfield

In an underperforming team like the current Arsenal, players struggle to re-discover their form and confidence they had a couple of weeks ago. Although last night, the Gunners did turn the tables and whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named the player of the match, Lucas Torreira was the silent beast who completely controlled the game, pulling the strings from midfield.

The double-pivot of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira was a huge success for Arsenal under Unai Emery last season, but the emergence of Matteo Guendouzi has caused a conundrum as to who should be picked. But now, Freddie Ljungberg does seem to know which his best midfield trio is, i.e Mesut Ozil as the attacking midfielder, with two defensive minded-midfielders in Xhaka and Torreira just sitting in front of the back four.

Opportunities were hard to come by for the Uruguayan in the Premier League this season, as this was his first league start of the season. Well, the 23-year-old has dropped a 5/5 performance away from home and Freddie Ljungberg has no reason to drop him for the game against Man City on Sunday.

#1 Nicolas Pepe has arrived!

For someone who came into the toughest and most physical league in the world from Ligue 1, Nicolas Pepe did not have the best of starts to his Arsenal career and his confidence was rock bottom until last night. The Ivorian only had 3 starts to his name in the Premier League coming into the game against West Ham, and Freddie Ljungberg presented him with an opportunity to hit back at his critics, which he did in triumphant fashion.

Nicolas Pepe completed 5 dribbles last night, more than any other player on the pitch. He also attempted 3 shots and was always trying to link up with Aubameyang as well as tracking back efficiently to give Maitland Niles much-needed support. The 24-year-old was always trying to make things happen, as he often dropped deep to receive the ball from the midfielders and create something for Martinelli and Aubameyang. A scintillating goal followed by a sweet assist to Aubameyang and Pepe's celebration really summed up how important it was for him to get back on track.

A £72 million price tag is never too easy to handle, and the fact that he also had to miss the pre-season with the squad due to national commitments made things very difficult for Nicolas Pepe. But he has changed all that at least on the evidence of last night. However, as G. Michael Hopf says,