Rice, Saka fire Arsenal to 2-0 win over West Ham

Declan Rice scored his first goal of the season before Bukayo Saka added a second as Arsenal eased past West Ham in manager Mikel Arteta’s 300th game in charge.

Arsenal have enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign, losing just once, and Arteta looked to maintain that momentum with an attacking line-up.

The Gunners’ boss named a midfield trio of Rice, Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze, making full use of his squad after a £250m summer outlay.

However, that combination did not last long as Ødegaard was forced off with an injury — the third successive Premier League home game in which he has been withdrawn early.

Rice was then pushed into a more advanced role after Martin Zubimendi came on, and the former West Ham captain capitalised by firing home after Eze’s effort was parried by Alphonse Areola.

Arsenal dominated for long spells, with West Ham limited to speculative attempts whenever they broke forward.

The win was sealed in the second half when Jurrien Timber was fouled by El Hadji Malick Diouf, and Saka coolly converted the resulting penalty into the corner.

It was a memorable way for Saka to mark his 200th Premier League appearance, extending his impressive record to 55 goals and 45 assists.