West Ham vs Arsenal player ratings: Bowen 7, Lanzini 5; Holding 8, Elneny 6

Headed goals from centre-backs Holding and Gabriel give Gunners a 2-1 win away to West Ham

WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski – 6 Lining up against his former side, the Polish goalkeeper was forced to push wide Nkeitah’s effort before moments later being unable to keep out Holding’s header. Unable to stop Gabriel’s header too in the second half. Called into action to keep his side in the game when Nkeitah pounced on a weak ball from Coufal. Reuters

Vladimir Coufal – 7 A danger on the right, Coufal floated in two delightful crosses within the space of minutes. It was no surprise when it was the Czech yet again who found Bowen in the box for West Ham’s equaliser. Getty

Kurt Zouma – 6 Forced into playing consecutive games on his return from injury, Zouma continued to be met by boos. He wasn’t quite at his best. AFP

Aaron Cresswell – 5 Forced into playing at centre-back in a makeshift defence, Cresswell looked competent but missed getting forward. Booked. Reuters

Ryan Fredericks – 5 Stationed at left-back, Fredericks was a victim of Saka’s pace. He was also seemingly unaware of Gabriel at the back post for Arsenal’s second goal. Getty

Declan Rice – 7 Tried his luck from the edge of the box, which was easily claimed by his England teammate Ramsdale. Soon after, he tried to put his side level from a corner, moments after Arsenal’s opener. Great sight to spot Coufal on the wing in the build up for Bowen’s goal. PA

Mark Noble – 6 A rare start for the veteran in one of his final games for his club. Did as you’d expect, and was solid. Getty

Jarrod Bowen – 7 Wasted no time in getting his side back on level terms, controlling Coufal’s cross to find the back of the net. Booked. EPA

Manuel Lanzini – 5 was at fault for the opener but surely a mismatch with 5ft 6in Lanzini given the task of defending 6ft 2in Rob Holding on corners. AFP

Pablo Fornals – 6 The Spaniard saw an opportunity blocked at one end, but at the other kept his side in the game. EPA

Said Benrahma – 5 The winger was clearly trying to make things happen for his side. He saw an own effort blocked by Holding just after half time, and the Arsenal man stopped much of the Algerian’s crosses throughout. PA

SUBS: Michail Antonio (Lanzini 71’) – N/R Caused trouble for Arsenal during his cameo from the bench but, crucially, not a goal. Getty

Tomas Soucek (Noble 78’) – N/R Couldn’t make much of an impact. AFP

Andriy Yarmolenko (Benrahma 81’) – N/R Too little time and space for the Ukrainian. Getty

ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale – 6 Forced into action just moments after Arsenal’s opener having to react quickly to deny Rice from a corner. Later, he was unable to stop Jarrod Bowen, who slotted home on the stroke of half-time. PA

Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6 Making his first start since New Year’s Day following a calf injury, Tomiyasu settled in well, but he was forced off injured. AFP

Rob Holding – 8 With Ben White sidelined with a hamstring injury, Holding had a rare start under Arteta and made several crucial blocks. And, out of nowhere, it was the 26-year-old with his first Premier League goal to put Arsenal ahead. EPA

Gabriel – 6 Poor in marking for Bowen’s goal, he put Arsenal back into the lead. AFP

Nuno Tavares – 4 A poor first half performance by Tavares was topped by Coufal again being in plenty of space on the wing, which became a feature way too often. AFP

Martin Odegaard – 5 Taking the captain’s armband, Odegaard couldn’t quite match his recent levels. Reuters

Mohamed Elneny – 6 At one point, the Egyptian did well to spot Nketiah. Moments later, Elneny steered his effort high over the crossbar. Reuters

Granit Xhaka – 5 Some misguided and careless passes throughout as the game struggled to get going but he did enough. Rweuters

Bukayo Saka – 7 Whilst Arsenal took time to warm up in the first half, Saka looked one of Arsenal’s brighter players on the ball. Delivered the corner for Rob Holding’s goal. Later forced Fabianski to react quickly with a shot at his near post. Getty

Eddie Nketiah – 8 Making his fourth consecutive start after limited game time, Nketiah was a bright spark, hungry and clearly wanted to make an impression. He forced Fabianski into action. Booked. AFP

Gabriel Martinelli – 6 Spotting Gabriel at the back post, Martinelli linked with his compatriot to hand Arsenal the lead for the second time. EPA

SUBS: Cedric (Tomiyasu 78’) – N/R A substitution Arteta was forced into using, with Tomiyasu injured, he did well to help his side hold on for the final ten minutes. AP

Emile Smith Rowe (Saka 87) – N/R Trekked forward in the second half in trying to create a third to finish off the game. Reuters

Albert Sambi Lokonga (Odegaard 90+2’) – N/R Darted forward on his introduction but saw his one effort skied. Getty

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal had “won ugly” after their chances of securing a top-four finish in the Premier League were enhanced by a 2-1 victory over West Ham at the London Stadium.

Rob Holding and Gabriel struck from corners in each half of a hard-fought London derby as the Gunners climbed back into the Champions League places just hours after Tottenham had replaced them in fourth with a 3-1 victory over Leicester.

“In England you say ‘win ugly’ and from my point of view we won ugly,” Arteta said.

“It was a massive win in very difficult circumstances because we caused ourselves problems, especially with our decision-making.

“But the team showed huge character, not giving up but to continue doing the right things.

“The way they fought and the way they understood how they had to manage the game in certain moments, it was phenomenal.

“I am extremely happy to see a team that has this capacity to find a way to win and to show the character they showed.”

West Ham boss David Moyes was proud of his side, although he was disappointed with two decisions by referee Mike Dean.

The first was a possible handball from Holding in the build-up to Gabriel’s strike, while the second was a dangerous attempted tackle by Aaron Ramsdale on Jarrod Bowen that actually resulted in the Hammers goalscorer being booked for simulation.

“I thought we did a job on Arsenal. We kept them really quiet and I saw them against Chelsea the other week when they were terrific,” Moyes said.

“I’ve seen Rob Holding, it actually hits his arm. It’s not stopped. If the referee had seen it he would have stopped it, but I don’t think he’d seen it.

“The goalkeeper’s reckless and Jarrod gets there first. If Jarrod had left a leg there and taken a hit, I think it would have been a completely different story for us and Arsenal.

“It would certainly have been a free-kick for us, that’s for sure. And if there was a decision to make over whether it was yellow or red, I’m not sure.”