Arsenal were held to a goalless first 45 minutes by West Ham at the London Stadium in a game with significant repercussions at both ends of the Premier League table.
The Gunners, who are looking to move five points clear of rivals Manchester City in the title race, began brightly and were perhaps unlucky not to find themselves in front against their survival-chasing hosts.
First, Mads Hermansen palmed away a header from point-blank range before Leandro Trossard’s follow-up header clipped the post.
From another set-piece, Riccardo Calafiori’s flick at the near post was kept out courtesy of some brilliant defending by former Gunner Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Hammers hit back
West Ham began to wrestle back momentum as the half wore on, while Mikel Arteta was dealt an unjury blow when Ben White hobbled off.
David Raya, who had largely been a bystander for much of the match, was called into action on just before the break.
The Spaniard had to be at full stretch to keep out Taty Castellanos’s diving header and prevent the visitors from falling behind.
It sets up an intriguing second half, with the prospect of a point doing very little to calm the nerves of both sets of supporters.
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