Arsenal Bottle It Again

Arsenal lost 1-0 to West Ham, making it harder for them to win the Premier League. This result gives Liverpool a chance to go 11 points ahead.

Arsenal wanted to close the gap to five points, but they could not recover after a mistake in defense. Before half-time, Jarrod Bowen scored with a header from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross. Now, Liverpool can increase their lead over Manchester City on Sunday.

Arsenal had an injury problem, so coach Mikel Arteta played Mikel Merino as a striker. But he could not score like he did in the last game against Leicester. Arsenal played slowly and found it hard to attack.

In the second half, Arsenal's task became even harder. Myles Lewis-Skelly got a yellow card, but after a VAR check, it changed to a red card. He fouled Mohammed Kudus, who was running alone towards the goal. Arsenal already had one of Lewis-Skelly’s red cards canceled last month, but this time, it will probably stay because goalkeeper David Raya was far from his goal.

Arsenal tried hard to score in the last minutes. Gabriel Magalhaes missed a shot, and Ben White also missed. Arsenal had more problems because Kai Havertz got injured earlier this month.

This loss is very bad for Arsenal’s title hopes. At the end of the match, Arsenal players looked sad, while West Ham players celebrated. It was only their second win under coach Graham Potter, but Potter has now won four times in his last five visits to Arsenal’s stadium.

Glossary

• Premier League – The top football league in England.

• Gap – The difference between two numbers (for example, points in a league).

• Header – When a player hits the ball with their head.

• Striker – A football player who plays in attack and tries to score goals.

• VAR (Video Assistant Referee) – A system that helps referees check important decisions using video.

• Red card – A punishment in football that makes a player leave the game.

• Goalkeeper – The player who stops the ball from going into the goal.

• Injury – When a player is hurt and cannot play.

• Celebrate – To be happy and show joy after winning or scoring.

• Stadium – A large place where football matches are played.