Bowen earns West Ham draw and hurts Arsenal’s title bid after Saka miss
If Arsenal’s wait for the Premier League title is to extend beyond the end of the season, this will go down as the day when their challenge faltered. After the 2-2 draw at Liverpool last Sunday, Mikel Arteta and his coaches were happy with the point, even if they accepted that the game management had to improve. There were not so many ‘what ifs?’ – even though they led 2-0.
It was an entirely different feeling here. This was a game that Arsenal held in their palms, initially after they surged into an early 2-0 lead. At that point the West Ham natives were restless, Arsenal’s superiority pronounced to an almost excruciating degree.
Then, at 2-1 early in the second half, Arsenal did so again as Bukayo Saka stood over a penalty. The club’s player of the season had not missed from the spot since his notorious fail for England in the Euro 2020 final shootout defeat against Italy but his nerve deserted him, his kick pushed past Lukasz Fabianski’s right‑hand post.