Arsenal suffered a 1-0 loss to West Ham and had Myles Lewis-Skelly sent off in a huge blow to their Premier League title hopes which gives Liverpool the chance to go 11 points clear.
The Gunners were hoping to cut the gap to five points but could not recover after Jarrod Bowen punished poor defending to head in Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross before half-time. Liverpool can extend their eight-point lead against Manchester City on Super Sunday.
Mikel Arteta started Mikel Merino up front amid Arsenal’s injury crisis but the makeshift striker was unable to replicate his two-goal heroics against Leicester in a laboured Gunners display.
The hosts struggled to create chances, never mind take them, and their task was made tougher when substitute Lewis-Skelly had a yellow card upgraded to a red for a last-man foul on the excellent Mohammed Kudus in the second half following a VAR check.
The 18-year-old had a red card against Wolves last month overturned but there is little prospect of that this time, given Kudus was through on goal with David Raya around 40 yards off his line.
Arsenal lost 1-0 at home to West Ham to give Liverpool the chance to go 11 points clear at the top on Sunday
Arsenal subjected West Ham to heavy pressure in the closing stages, but Gabriel Magalhaes sliced a shot over the bar and Ben White fired narrowly wide as their lack of firepower, with Kai Havertz added to their injury list earlier this month, proved costly.
The defeat leaves their title hopes hanging by a thread. As their players sunk to their haunches at the final whistle, West Ham’s celebrated a deserved victory, only their second under new boss Graham Potter but his fourth in five visits to the Emirates Stadium as a manager.
Bowen’s goal, following a breakaway which involved defensive lapses from Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice and Gabriel, came from one of five shots to Arsenal’s 20 but the Gunners only managed to get two on target, with the visitors defending their box comfortably.
