New Delhi: Arsenal travelled to West Ham on Saturday night for the final game of Premier League Saturday and it turned out to be a goal fest, keeping in line with the trend of the day. After both Bournemouth and Brentford won big earlier in the day by scoring four past their opponents, Arsenal decided to better that and they did so in just one half. The London derby between West Ham and Arsenal turned out to be the thriller it promised.
The Gunners scored four without response in the first 36 minutes of the game before West Ham scored two of their own to halve the deficit. Bukayo Saka then added another from the spot in the stoppage time of first half to create history. With the score at 5-2 in favour of the Gunners at half-time, it marked only the fourth time in Premier League history that seven goals were scored in just one of Premier League football.
7 – West Ham v Arsenal is only the fourth Premier League game to see seven goals in the first half alone, after Blackburn v Leeds in September 1997, Bradford v Derby in April 2000, and Reading v Man Utd in December 2012. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/Zji8BguDu6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
This was the first time in 12 years that seven goals were scored in a single half of football. The first time this feat happened was back in September 1997 during a game between Blackburn and Leeds and then in April 2000 between Brentford and Derby County. The last time this feat took place was in December 2012 in a game between Reading and Manchester United. If Arsenal manage to hold onto the lead, they will finish the day in second spot, behind leaders Liverpool.
Should the record have been made though?
While the 5-2 scoreline helped make the record, fans online have voiced their concerns over one of the goals that was scored in the game. Former Chelsea and current West Ham full-back, Emerson Palmieri scored a sublime freekick to halve the deficit five minutes from halftime to make the score 4-2. The referee, Anthony Taylor had awarded the freekick to the Hammers for a supposed foul on West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta.
The incident took place right in front of the referee and he awarded a freekick to the home side. However, on viewing the footage again, it looks as if Arsenal’s Declan rice had clearly gotten the ball first and didn’t touch the Brazilian till after the tackle was complete. The challenge seems like a completely fair one and it doesn’t look like this should’ve been a freekick in West Ham’s favour.
The footage clearly shows it to be a fair challenge and that has sent the Arsenal faithful online into a frenzy as they call out referee Anthony Taylor for his supposed wrong decision. This isn’t the first time Taylor has been at the center of controversy when it comes to his decisions with Taylor notoriously being known amongst Premier League fans to be someone who sometimes comes out with decisions that fans don’t particularly see eye to eye with.
Continuing on the crazy action of Premier League Saturday, Arsenal’s visit to West Ham created history in just 45 minutes of action as the Gunners went wild. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
