Gunners fire without Aubameyang as league's COVID crisis deepens

Arsenal showed its players can thrive without axed star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Gunners moved into fourth place in the English Premier League with a 2-0 win against West Ham, while the top-flight's coronavirus crisis deepened on Wednesday.

Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe netted in the second half of a fiery London derby at the Emirates Stadium, where West Ham's Vladimir Coufal was sent off.

The win moved the Gunners one point above the fifth-place Hammers after a second successive victory eased the drama surrounding Mikel Arteta's decision to strip Aubameyang of the club captaincy.

Arteta's side is in the top four at this stage of a season for the first time in two-and-a-half years.

It is a remarkable reversal of fortunes after Arsenal lost its opening three league games for the first time in 67 years.

"It was a statement result. The performance, attitude and commitment the players showed is exactly what we are about," Arteta said.

"We have a leadership group and I expect every player to stick to our values."

Calls for Arteta to be fired were widespread after an embarrassing 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City in August, but the Spaniard has steadied the ship impressively, with even the Aubameyang episode unable to derail him.

Aubameyang was absent from the squad after being stripped of the captaincy due to a disciplinary breach on Tuesday.

He returned late and missed training last week after traveling to France to see his ill mother.

It was not Aubameyang's first transgression, having previously been dropped for the north London derby against Tottenham in March after what was described as a breach of the club's prematch protocol.

Asked if there was a way back from exile for the Gabon international, Arteta replied: "We will talk about that another day.

"He was not eligible for this game, that's it and this game is gone now. We will discuss it in the near future."

Martinelli broke West Ham's resistance in the 48th minute when the Brazilian ran onto Alexandre Lacazette's defense-splitting pass and stroked a fine finish into the far corner for his second goal this term.

West Ham was reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute after Coufal's tackle on stand-in skipper Lacazette conceded a penalty and earned the defender a second yellow card.

Lukasz Fabianski plunged to his left to save Lacazette's spot-kick, but Smith Rowe capped Arsenal's dominant display when he finished a flowing move with a clinical strike from the edge of the area in the 87th minute.

Late cancellation

While Arsenal was hit by the coronavirus before its opening game of the season at Brentford, it has so far avoided the recent surge in positive tests that has plunged the league into turmoil.

Watford's match at Burnley was postponed less than three hours before kickoff on Wednesday after "an ongoing COVID outbreak" left the Hornets with insufficient players to fulfill the fixture.

It was the third Premier League game to be postponed due to the virus in four days as the new Omicron variant causes havoc.

Tottenham's trip to Brighton last Sunday was called off due to an outbreak at the north London club, while Manchester United's match at Brentford on Tuesday was canceled after the Old Trafford club's positive tests.

United, Tottenham, Brighton, Leicester, Norwich and Aston Villa had already been hit by the virus over the last week.

The Premier League announced a record 42 positive tests across two testing cycles last week.

Also on Wednesday, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said the Premier League had rejected an appeal from both clubs to postpone its match against Tottenham on Thursday.

Leicester is currently without nine players because of COVID-related issues and injuries.

Brighton boss Graham Potter had dealt with several coronavirus cases in his squad this week and his problems mounted as Wolves won 1-0 at the Amex Stadium.

Potter's side is without a win in 12 games in all competitions after Romain Saiss volleyed home in first-half stoppage time.

Jordan Ayew ended his 47-game goal drought to earn Crystal Palace a 2-2 draw against Southampton at Selhurst Park.

AFP