Cesc fires Gunners to summit

Cesc Fabregas fired 10-man Arsenal to the top of the table as they overcame West Ham at Emirates Stadium.

Hammers unable to stop 10-man Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas fired 10-man Arsenal to the top of the Premier League as they showed great resilience to overcome West Ham at Emirates Stadium. Arsene Wenger's men took an early lead against their London rivals as some weak defending from Gianfranco Zola's men allowed Nicklas Bendtner to set up Denilson to drive home a sweet low strike from the edge of the box. The visitors were handed a route back into the encounter just before the break when Thomas Vermaelen was harshly dismissed by referee Martin Atkinson on the advice of his assistant after bringing down Guillermo Franco in the box. But Manuel Almunia produced an excellent save to deny Alessando Diamanti from the penalty spot, although the save did little to appease Wenger, who vented his anger towards Atkinson at half-time. Arsenal held firm in the second period and climbed back to the summit of the table after being awarded a penalty of their own, as Matthew Upson handled Fabregas' flick on the edge of the area. The Arsenal captain, back in the side after his hamstring injury, stepped up to take the responsibility himself and made no mistake as he crashed a powerful effort beyond Robert Green. The Gunners could, of course, fall back down to third place should both United and Chelsea win on Sunday, but after another brave display, Wenger's youngsters remain very much in the hunt for a first title since the 'Invincibles' campaign of 2003/04.

Lead

Arsenal swept into the lead when Denilson won the ball from Valon Behrami on the edge of the West Ham box, before playing a neat one-two with Bendtner and firing home. West Ham were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position 25 yards out when Sol Campbell bundled over Franco. Diamanti's effort was well struck, but flew over. The Hammers, who are hovering just above the relegation zone, produced a decent response to their early setback. Junior Stanislas got away down the right, and his cross was almost met by Mido at the far post. Fabregas and Bendtner combined to release Emmanuel Eboue into the right side of the box, and his angled drive was just too far ahead of Andrey Arshavin, sliding in at the far post. Arsenal were reduced to 10 men a minute before the break when Vermaelen was, on the advice of the assistant, adjudged to have pulled down Franco as they chased a long ball into the box - and deemed the last man by Atkinson who, from 20 yards away, went to his back pocket for the red card. Wenger was fuming - but will feel justice was done when Almunia made a brilliant save down to his left to keep out Diamanti's spot-kick. Song dropped back into the centre of defence, as Arsenal regrouped for the second half with Bendtner deployed as a lone striker, which limited Arsenal's attacking options.

Another gear

West Ham, though, failed to make the most of their extra possession. Matthew Upson, the former Arsenal defender, was cautioned for tripping Eboue to concede a free-kick 25 yards out on the right. Fabregas curled his effort around the wall, but wide. Arsenal suddenly found another gear, lifted by the Emirates Stadium faithful as Samir Nasri flashed a low ball across the face of goal from the right. West Ham were still a danger, though, as Diamanti's drive was deflected behind for a corner. Campbell forced a good save from Green when he met Fabregas' free-kick, before Nasri was replaced by Bacary Sagna as Eboue went onto the right wing, while West Ham sent striker Benni McCarthy on for Mido. Arshavin's drive was well held by Green on what was now a skiddy surface, before Cole cut inside and drilled a low shot onto the outside of the far post. Arsenal secured themselves a two-goal cushion and some much-needed breathing space after Upson's handball with seven minutes left, as Fabregas made no mistake from the penalty spot as the Gunners recorded a sixth successive league victory.

Arsenal	Team Statistics	West Ham United
2	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	3
5	Shots off Target	4
2	Blocked Shots	3
4	Corners	2
10	Fouls	27
1	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	4
1	Red Cards	0
84.2	Passing Success	82.1
30	Tackles	36
80	Tackles Success	75
55.9	Possession	44.1
55.7	Territorial Advantage	44.3