From The Vault: Five Classic Games At West Ham

For Arsenal fans across the globe, trips to the east end of the capital have been filled with some fantastic encounters down the years, whether they be topsy-turvy meetings or emphatic away successes on the Hammers’ patch.

Arsenal.com has delved into the archives to dig out some of the best for the fans to enjoy again:

October 1, 1988
West Ham 1-4 Arsenal

Alan Smith netted twice in this encounter that would see George Graham’s future championship-winning side claim a big win against their London rivals. The striker powered home a left-footed blast before flicking home after a corner failed to be cleared effectively, but Alan Dickens would reduce the arrears before the break.

However in the second half Michael Thomas would win the ball back in midfield and link up with Martin Hayes to restore the two-goal lead, before Lee Dixon’s cross found David Rocastle to complete the scoring and a comfortable victory.

February 6, 1999
West Ham 0-4 Arsenal

Arsene Wenger’s reigning champions were imperious on this particular afternoon, displayed when Dennis Bergkamp opened the scoring after 35 minutes when he glided through the Hammers defence to effortlessly find the bottom corner, and just before half-time Marc Overmars added a second.

Eight minutes from time, the game was wrapped up when Nicolas Anelka twisted and turned Ian Pearce inside out before firing low past Shaka Hislop, who was beaten again when Ray Parlour popped in a fourth to add late gloss to the scoreline.

December 3, 2016
West Ham 1-5 Arsenal

Alexis Sanchez stole the show by taking home the matchball during this rout, which began with him unselfishly teeing up Mesut Ozil to open the scoring midway through the first half. Incredibly, we would then have to wait until the final 18 minutes for the floodgates to open, and Sanchez to shine.

The Chilean first wriggled past two defenders before arrowing into the bottom corner, and then found the net again from the edge of the area. Andy Carroll pulled one back, but a minute later Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain drove home from 25 yards before some brilliance by Sanchez saw him dink the ball over a helpless Darren Randolph to complete a 14-minute hat-trick.

December 9, 2019
West Ham 1-3 Arsenal

A fine second-half display saw Freddie Ljungberg gain his first win as interim boss, after seeing his team recover from falling a goal behind on 38 minutes when Angelo Ogbonna’s header somehow deflected its way into the net.

However three goals in the space of nine minutes saw us comfortably home. On the hour mark 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli marked his first Premier League start with the equaliser, before Pepe cut inside and flashed a fine strike into the top corner. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wrapped things up soon after to leave the home crowd stunned.

February 11, 2024
West Ham 0-6 Arsenal

A sensational display in east London saw five different players get on the scoresheet to record our biggest-ever away win in the Premier League. We were four goals ahead at the break after William Saliba headed home a corner, Bukayo Saka drilled in a penalty, Gabriel connected with a Declan Rice free-kick and Leandro Trossard curled into the top corner.

Those final three strikes came during a breathless six-minute period at the end of the half, and the scoring continued after the break as Saka arrowed in his second of the afternoon before Rice put the icing on the cake when he blasted in from 25 yards to complete a miserable afternoon for his former employers.