Arsenal lost ground on their rivals for a Premier League top-four place after a 0-0 draw at London Stadium on Wednesday that left West Ham United stuck in the relegation places.
The Gunners bossed possession but created few clear chances and are now seventh in the table, still below Burnley and now behind Tottenham Hotspur, having dropped seven points from their last three games.
West Ham almost won it late on but substitute Javier Hernandez saw his shot hit the underside of the bar, bounce downwards and stay out.
David Moyes’ hosts were unchanged following Saturday’s stirring derby win over Chelsea, but the home fans made hardly any noise at all in the opening stages as Arsenal stroked the ball about purposefully, with Alexis Sanchez firing straight at Adrian, the man currently keeping England number one Joe Hart on the bench.
Marko Arnautovic scored the only goal againat Chelsea and had the ball in the net again in the 14th minute with a firm header from Arthur Masuaku’s cross from the left, but was denied by a correct offside call.
Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, openly coveted by West Ham manager David Moyes as a January signing and making his first Premier League start in 577 days, was given a rare start but struggled to make an impact.
Sanchez was trying to make something happen however and saw an effort deflected behind. But when the corner was half-cleared to Alex Iwobi on the edge of the box he could not hit the target.
The recalled Nigerian did much better with his next effort, from closer range, but although it beat the goalkeeper it thumped back off the outside of the post.
Liverpool frustrated again
Liverpool suffered a frustrating night as a sturdy West Brom side held them to a goalless draw at Anfield and climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference. Substitute Dominic Solanke thought he had won the match with eight minutes left when he turned in Joe Gomez’s cross from close range, but referee Paul Tierney ruled out the goal for handball.
Hal Robson-Kanu had hit the bar in the first half for Albion, who emerged with plenty of credit despite setting an unwanted club record of 16 consecutive matches without victory. Liverpool went into the match seeking to regain a place in the Premier League’s top four, and to put behind them the disappointment of failing to win Sunday’s Merseyside derby.
Manager Jurgen Klopp caused something of a surprise by starting all four of his main attacking players, recalling Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho to play alongside top scorer Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
There were six changes in all to the side that started the 1-1 draw against Everton, with Loris Karius making his first Premier League appearance since August as he replaced Simon Mignolet, who was carrying a slight ankle knock but judged fit enough to be on the bench.
West Brom were hoping to avoid setting an unwanted club record of matches without victory, and showed two changes to the side beaten at Swansea last Saturday, with Grzegorz Krychowiak and James McClean called in at the expense of Sam Field and Jay Rodriguez.
Albion had dropped into the bottom three following Crystal Palace’s late comeback win over Watford on Tuesday, and desperately needed inspiration.
Their boss Alan Pardew had won on his previous two visits to Anfield as manager of Crystal Palace, and his plan to frustrate Liverpool worked in the early stages.
However, his team were fortunate not to go behind when Salah got the better of Jonny Evans and played in a low cross from the right that Firmino, in behind Allan Nyom on the far side, somehow steered back across goal and beyond the post from little more than six yards.
Yet Albion did not rely entirely on defence, and almost took the lead on the half-hour; Hal Robson-Kanu curled a 25-yard shot against the top of the bar after Liverpool had made a mess of trying to play out from the back.
Aurier, Son strike as Spurs down Brighton
Goals from Serge Aurier and Son Heung-Min fired Tottenham to a 2-0 victory against Brighton that moved them into fourth place in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Although nowhere near their best, Tottenham led thanks to Ivory Coast right-back Aurier, who scored a freak first goal for the club after 40 minutes with a cross that deceived Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side hit the woodwork twice before South Korea forward Son’s glancing header in the 87th minute was deflected in to seal the three points. Tottenham remain unbeaten in the league at Wembley since the opening game of the season and, after so much talk of a curse at their temporary home, have now won five of their past six games there.
Brighton, managed by former Tottenham defender Chris Hughton, have hit a rocky patch, taking only one point from a possible 15 to leave them firmly in the relegation fight.
