Published: 17:38, 4 October 2025 | Updated: 17:38, 4 October 2025

There will be days when Arsenal’s candidacy for the title is properly tested, but anyone who expected West Ham to provide the examination ought to be kept away from heavy machinery.

This was a walk. A stroll. The kind where the best to be said for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side was that they were not blow away by the wind. If they had, it might have been considered a small mercy.

Not because 2-0 away at Arsenal is a disgrace. But because of the half-truths told by the score at the close of a game in which David Raya did not need to make even a single save. The white lies of the numbers concealed the whitewash of this performance.

As such, four league wins for Mikel Arteta became five, three clean sheets became four, and barely a drop of sweat was spared. That is what their second gear looks like and there is a gathering excitement around what they will muster when the more meaningful assignments come Arsenal’s way after the international...