Two sides who ended 2023 with astounding wins over North London giants square off in their opening fixture of 2024 on Tuesday, as West Ham United do battle with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Irons dented Arsenal's title aspirations with a 2-0 win over the Gunners on Thursday, while the Seagulls produced an attacking masterclass in a 4-2 beating of Tottenham Hotspur.
For the second time in two months, Arsenal were left to bemoan a puzzling line call as Tomas Soucek tapped home after Jarrod Bowen was adjudged to have kept the ball in play, before ex-Gunner Dinos Mavropanos rose highest to double his new club's lead in the second period.
Despite ceding 77 touches to Arsenal in their own penalty area - a Premier League record for a team not to find the back of the net - West Ham offered Alphonse Areola remarkable protection throughout the 90 minutes to make it three top-flight wins on the trot.
Also shutting out Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United during a memorable December - where five-goal crushings to Fulham and Liverpool paled into insignificance - West Ham occupy sixth place in the table, clear of Man United thanks to the Red Devils' failure to take a point off of Nottingham Forest.
0 Comments