West Ham Win Decided Arsenal’s Fate this Season

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Arsenal’s title race this season and last has had one significant point where the Gunners gave it all away. 

In the previous season, when facing Manchester City, it was the loss against Southampton that allowed Pep Guardiola’s men to navigate past Arseal and claim the title in the final week of the Premier League. 

This season, it was once again a two-horse race to the top. Liverpool gained momentum right from the start with important wins, and Arsenal was just within striking distance. 

But one game that turned it all around was the game against West Ham. 

Arsenal’s 1-0 loss against West Ham in February might just be the moment when their league title hopes disappeared. 

Arsenal’s Misery Started With West Ham 

The Arsenal vs West Ham game in 2025 might be one encounter everyone with West Ham United tickets will remember. 

The Hammers haven’t had a great season, finishing 15th, behind Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but that game against Arsenal was one famous win. 

With eight minutes of normal time left, West Ham United replaced match-winner Jarrod Bowen with Evan Ferguson, a striker they signed on loan earlier this month.

It almost felt like a move to mock Arsenal if you didn’t know better. After all, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta must have wished he could do the same, bereft of attacking options after opting against a midseason signing.

That decision appeared questionable at the time, but after Arsenal lost 1-0 to the Hammers at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, it has already triggered the biggest question of all: Is Arsenal’s title race now over?

“It’s not in our hands,” Arteta admitted after the match. “For me, I’m annoyed about the things that are in our hands, and we didn’t do as well as we possibly could. That’s the performance and the result today.”

The hope that Mikel Merino would follow a trajectory comparable to that of Kai Havertz — midfielder turned striker — seemed fanciful from the outset, even if he filled the vacant centre-forward position impressively with a late double at Leicester City last weekend. 

Havertz has a much greater pedigree as a forward. In any case, his transition to leading Arsenal’s attack came organically over when the team was playing well, not as a stop-gap in their hour of need.

The Gunners had some zip in the play for the opening 15 minutes or so, trying to angle balls to Merino, which they managed effectively on two occasions. After West Ham became aware of that threat, though, Arsenal struggled to assert any sustained pressure beyond control of the ball in safe areas.

Despite the sense of opportunity before them—Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa earlier and Arne Slot’s side not playing at Manchester City until Sunday created a chance to cut the gap at the top to five points—the Gunners were curiously flat.

Perhaps belief was in short supply, but creativity certainly was. The club’s loss to West Ham in February showed that its title conquest was almost over. 

Martin Ødegaard lacked his usual guile, Leandro Trossard made too many wrong decisions, and Ethan Nwaneri was subdued. Declan Rice, berated throughout by supporters of his former club, was hooked after just 56 minutes.

Mohammed Kudus caused Arsenal problems all afternoon, none more so than when substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly hauled him down just inside the Gunners half.

Arteta rejected that their lack of a recognised striker could explain everything he witnessed, believing the problem to be more fundamental.

West Ham Did Better in Europe than Arsenal 

Amidst the uproar of Arsenal becoming a powerhouse, those with West Ham United tickets and ex-players have voiced their opinions that they’ve been a more successful club in Europe than them.  

Arsenal might be Premier League giants, but even West Ham boasts more success in European competitions.

This conversation was reignited after Tottenham Hotspur, their London rivals, won the UEFA Europa League against Manchester United, ending their long-awaited trophy drought. 

Arsenal, on the other hand, was beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals and will end the season trophyless.

Arsenal fans must absolutely be spewing because of what happened with Spurs. They must be devastated. 

Arsenal’s record in the UEFA Champions League isn’t something the club will want to boast about. They’ve been quite terrible. 

Looking back, fans with West Ham United tickets will wholeheartedly agree that their club has had better success in a very tight working environment than Arsenal. 

The club won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965, made the finals in 1976, and most recently won the Europa Conference League in 2023. 

It was a famous win that every fan with West Ham United tickets will remember, thanks to Declan Rice’s heroics. 

“West Ham won two. Arsenal have won one. The stats don’t lie. So, in London, Arsenal are the runt of the litter. They’re the runt.

“And that’s why they’re spewing. They’re looking around going, Oh my God, they’re gutted.”

Out of all four London clubs competing in major UEFA competitions, Arsenal have won the least trophies.

Chelsea leads on eight, with two triumphs coming in each of the Champions League, Europa League, Cup Winners’ Cup, and Super Cup.

Spurs now have half that amount thanks to three Europa Leagues and a Cup Winners’ Cup.

West Ham won the Conference League in 2023, 58 years after they lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup.

Arsenal have just the sole Cup Winners’ Cup to their name, which came in the 1993/94 season.

The Gunners have come close to adding more European silverware to their trophy cabinet but have fallen short on various occasions.

Their most recent opportunity came in 2019 when they were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in the Europa League final.

Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the Champions League final in the 2005/06 season.

Mikel Arteta has taken Arsenal beyond the group or league stages in all six seasons, with two semi-finals being his best finishes.

Spurs can even extend their lead over Arsenal when they play in the Super Cup final as Europa League champions on August 13.

They will meet the winners of this season’s Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan.

West Ham United tickets for the pre-season are now available to purchase.

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