Arsenal quickly forgot about the team’s off-field distractions with forward Gabriel Martinelli and substitute Emile Smith Rowe scoring in a 2-0 win over 10-man West Ham that put the Gunners in the top four in the Premier League.
Martinelli latched onto a pass from stand-in captain Alexandre Lacazette that sliced past three defenders and set the Brazilian clear on goal from the left. Martinelli made up for a miss late in the first half by curling the ball into the far corner in the 48th minute at Emirates Stadium.
Smith Rowe sealed the victory with a clever run and a fine strike from the edge of the area in the 87th that wrong-footed West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
The players ran to a corner to celebrate as manager Mikel Arteta could finally be allowed to break into a smile on the sidelines.
The win came a day after Arsenal stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the captaincy and was exactly what the Gunners needed to put the tumult at the club behind them. Arsenal are now in fourth place, leapfrogging the Hammers with the much-needed victory.
