Arsenal Drops Points, Held in Scoreless Draw vs. London Foe West Ham
West Ham produced their second impressive display inside a week, holding Arsenal 0-0 in a closely contested encounter at the London Stadium.
The Hammers almost stole all the points at the death, substitute Javier Hernandez crashing a late curling effort against Petr Cech's crossbar following Laurent Koscielny's kamikaze error.
In a game of few chances, David Moyes' men frustrated the visitors despite Arsenal dominating possession for large periods of the game. In a repeat of Sunday's trip to Southampton, the Gunners struggled to break down their opposition and dropped more points in their quest for a top four spot.
West Ham were unchanged, whilst Arsenal made four changes from their weekend draw with Southampton, Arsene Wenger recalling Jack Wilshere to the starting lineup for the first time in 577 days, as well as handing Olivier Giroud his first start of the season.
The first half was one to forget, as both sides struggled to get into their stride. The home side fashioned the first piece of excitement as Marko Arnautovic rose unmarked to head home Arthur Masuaku's cross. Jubilation soon turned to despair, however, as the Austrian looked across to find the linesman's flag up for offside.
Arsenal were slow to get into gear, but after their let-off, fashioned their first two opportunities of the game. First, Alexis Sanchez firing over the top after neat interplay between the recalled Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud.
Minutes later, Alex Iwobi crashed a left-footed drive against the base of Adrian's post after Manuel Lanzini had carelessly given the ball away in his own half.
Arsene Wenger's side were controlling possession, but finding out first hand the steely determination instilled in the Hammers since David Moyes took over from Slaven Bilic.
The visitors began the second half with more intent, Granit Xhaka stinging the palms of Adrian with a fierce left-footed drive before Mesut Ozil prodded wide after Sanchez's initial shot was blocked.
As West Ham began to tire, the Gunners began to apply real pressure. They should have taken the lead with twenty minutes to go. Giroud's aerial presence causing West Ham all sorts of problems, and when he nodded back from Ozil's lofted ball, Wilshere blazed wastefully over the bar from twelve yards.
Moments later, the Hammers had Adrian to thank once more as he parried away a dipping Sanchez free-kick.
Despite controlling the majority of the second half, it was the home side who almost snatched the points at the death. Skipper Mark Noble's sliding ball finding Hernandez, who effort struck the underside of the bar, but crucially did not cross the line.
West Ham remain in the relegation zone, but the draw brings them level on points with West Brom in 17th position, whilst Arsenal slip to 7th.
