FA Premier League
ARSENAL 2 (Lacazette 25, Nketiah 85)
WEST HAM UNITED 1 (Antonio 45)

HERE was a reality check for those who may have been getting a little carried away with all the positive developments at Arsenal. An FA Cup and Charity Shield double may be impressive and so may be convincing as hot an asset as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to renew his contract, but smashing Fulham does not make you championship contenders just yet.

No, the easy canter at which Arsenal won their opening day fixture at Craven Cottage was quickly swapped for a more physical London derby this evening (Saturday)  from which West Ham United could have departed with all three points.

The fact the Gunners were able to carve out a late winner of course suggests greater character and mental strength than previous seasons, but should not mask the bad old habits that will need quick remedies as even tougher fixtures loom on the imminent horizon.

The counterpunching which beat Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea during the summer ending to last month’s season was patient and crafty, but against West Ham there needed to be more expansive routes to goal. For most of the first half, Arsenal were bogged down in sideway passes and struggled to find any room between the visitors’ lines. Some of it was careless, some of it simply lacked imagination. There was certainly a lack of width.

Instead, West Ham, a team who were recently worried, albeit briefly, about holding onto their Premiership status, showed more energy. There wasn’t a host of chances, but they were certainly on top.

When Aubameyang broke their offside trap by a whisker before centring for Alexandre Lacazette to head home his second goal in  two games, it must have been deflating for them. His voice echoing around the stadium, Irons captain Declan Rice urged his teammates to ‘stay positive’.

There was a lull,and maybe Arsenal were nodding off for half time when, just before the whistle, West Ham staged their own counter-attack. Jared Bowen injected the pace. Michail Anotnio, a thorn all evening, got in between the Arsenal centre backs to prod the ball into the net past Bernd Leno.

Leno will not have done himself too many favours in the Leno v Martinez debate when he struggled in the air during the second half. Whether the club made the right decision to let Emiliano Martinez go, despite a heavy role in the trophy successes, could be one of the tales to watch this season.

He did not ooze confidence when West Ham swung in balls across the six yard box. He benefits, however, from now having Gabriel in front of him. It’s early days but he already looks like the kind of defender who Arsene Wenger was always meaning to buy before being distracted and invariably shopping for a playmaking midfielder instead.

The attempt to construct a fortress defence, however, will have been undermined by an injury to Kieran Tierney in the warm-up. He is progressing well but will need to stay fit this term.

West Ham’s closest moment came when Tomas Soucek, an impressive recruit who was always tight to his man and then dangerous when they had the ball, headed a chance against the frame of the goal. David Moyes’ side might alsi have scored when Leno made a mess of trying to clear the threat during the same passage of play.

Arsenal rode their luck, but stole all three points with five minutes to play. Bukayo Saka had been uninspiring for much of the match but got better as it wore on. He combined with Dani Ceballos with some quickfire passes that broke open a chance for sub Eddie Nketiah to feed from.

Was he offside? We have VAR for these kind of things and no offside was called. That will not stop West Ham fans complaining. And they will wonder how so much energy had been invested without even a point to take away.

ARSENAL: Leno, Bellerin, Saka (Luiz 89), Holding, Gabriel, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Ceballos, Willian (Pepe 64), Aubeyang, Lacazette (Nketiah 77)
SUBS NOT USED: Elneny, Macey, Maitland-Niles, Willock

WEST HAM UNITED: Fabianski, Masuaku (Anderson 90), Fredericks, Cresswell, Diop, Ogbonna, Rice, Soucek, Fornals (Haller 88), Bowen (Yarmolenko 83), Antonio
SUBS NOT USED: Balbuena, Johnson, Lanzini, Randolph