Arsenal has slowly but surely been chasing Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, and after the table leader dropped points against Aston Villa earlier in the week, a small door opened for the London team.
A door that Graham Potter's West Ham slammed shut on Saturday.
When the two London teams clashed in the northern part of the city, Arsenal suffered a shock defeat against their city rival.
The only goal of the match came at the end of the first half, when Jarrod Bowen nodded in 1–0.
Arsenal then had difficulty creating any dangerous opportunities, and after 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly was substituted in and barely a quarter of an hour later received the red card, the chances decreased even further.
The full-back chose to stop a free Mohammed Kudus, and was immediately sent off after a VAR review.
It was the second time in just four matches that the 18-year-old had received the red card. Less than a month ago, the Englishman was sent off when he received a red card against Wolverhampton. Lewis-Skelly has only made twelve Premier League matches for the club.
The defeat means that Arsenal does not take the chance to reduce the gap to Liverpool to five points. After 26 rounds, it is still eight points that separate the two top teams.
