Arsenal moved into second place in the Premier League after a frenetic victory over West Ham at the London Stadium in which seven first-half goals were scored.

The Gunners led after 10 minutes when centre-back Gabriel fired home Bukayo Saka’s corner at the near post after escaping loose West Ham marking.

And the lead was doubled after 27 minutes when Leandro Trossard finished off a flowing Arsenal move from close range. Saka was once again the provider, receiving a pass from a chipped Martin Odegaard before passing to Trossard to finish.

Then followed a hectic period with four goals in six minutes, initiated by Odegaard, who scored the third from the penalty spot just after the hour mark after Saka was brought down in the penalty area by Lucas Paqueta.

And Arsenal took a 4-0 lead after 36 minutes when home defender Max Kilman missed a long ball, allowing Kai Havertz to get past beleaguered goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski one-on-one.

West Ham responded as right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his second goal in a row with a shot off the post, before left-back Emerson reduced the deficit to 4-2 with a superb free-kick that crashed past the crossbar.

But Arsenal restored their three-goal lead with a second penalty, this time Saka scoring his first league away goal of the season after Fabianski accidentally hit Gabriel as he tried to clear a corner.

This was only the fourth time in Premier League history that seven goals were scored in the first half of a game – but there were none after the break as Arsenal comfortably cruised to victory.

The win leaves Mikel Arteta’s side six points behind leaders Liverpool, who face third-placed Manchester City on Sunday (4pm GMT).

West Ham remain in 14th place in the table, six points above the relegation zone.