Gabriel’s trademark ninth-minute header opened the floodgates and Arsenal ran riot, with Leandro Trossard tapping in after 26 minutes before Martin Odegaard’s penalty and Kai Havertz’s cool finish in the space of a minute sent some home fans heading for the exits.

Incredibly, West Ham responded almost immediately with Aaron Wan-Bissaka slotting home before a stunning free kick by Emerson offered hope of an unlikely comeback.

But Arsenal were awarded a second penalty of the game in first-half stoppage and this time Bukayo Saka stepped up to dispatch his spot kick past Lukasz Fabianski.

By comparison the second half was something of an anti-climax as Arsenal cruised to the win that moved them up to second in the table with 25 points, six behind leaders Liverpool who host struggling champions Manchester City on Sunday.

Arsenal have now scored 13 goals in their last three games as they return to form in spectacular fashion after a slump which had some writing off their title chances.

“I was happier with the first 30 minutes rather than the last 15 minutes of the first half, that’s for sure,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose side beat Sporting 5-1 away in the Champions League this week.

“We started incredibly well, so positive, so much energy and a lot of quality. Immediately after we scored the fourth we conceded a sloppy one and an unbelievable free kick and then it was game on. Thank goodness we scored the fifth and we were able to manage the game in the second half.”