Mikel Arteta seen high-fiving £27m Arsenal player after first-half challenge against West Ham

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Mikel Arteta reached onto the pitch to high five Leandro Trossard after the Arsenal forward did superbly to challenge Jarrod Bowen as the West Ham star tried to launch a counter attack in the first-half against Arsenal on Sunday.

Arsenal made a real statement with their performance at the London Stadium. The Gunners beat West Ham 6-0 to send a message to the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool after their wins on Saturday.

It took a little while for the floodgates to open. But Arsenal were absolutely ruthless once the deadlock was broken. And in truth, the Gunners seemed to want the game so much more.

Mikel Arteta high-fived Leandro Trossard after one challenge

There was one particular moment in the first-half which highlighted that. Leandro Trossard was dispossessed on the edge of the West Ham penalty area, and that allowed Jarrod Bowen to threaten to break away with the ball.

However, Trossard did not give up on regaining possession, doing really well to tackle Bowen. Unfortunately for Arsenal, he was unable to keep the ball from going out for a throw-in. But, as seen on Sky Sports (broadcast on 11/2; 14:30), Mikel Arteta made sure to high five the forward and almost passionately celebrate the challenge.

Arsenal wanted Sunday’s game so much more

Bowen was probably one of the few West Ham players who should not feel almost disgusted with his personal performance. There was not a great deal the forward could do. Whenever the home side did get forward, they seemed to be completely outnumbered by Arsenal players.

But that challenge from the £27 million Arsenal star highlighted how there was only one team who really had the fight to win.

With that, it was hardly surprising that Arteta wanted to praise the 29-year-old. Arsenal know how dangerous the Hammers can be if a game is not killed off.

They left absolutely nothing to chance on Sunday.