Arsenal produced an incredible performance as they thrashed West Ham United 6-0 to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to two points.

Declan Rice was directly involved in three goals on his return to former club West Ham as Arsenal ended a three-match winless run against the Hammers in all competitions to move level on points with second-placed Manchester City, with whom they are now level on goal difference. 

It was both West Ham's joint-heaviest home league defeat, and Arsenal's joint-largest away league win.

How the match unfolded

West Ham named the same team that lost 3-0 to Manchester United last weekend, while Arsenal made two alterations to their starting XI, with Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior coming in for Jorginho and Oleksandr Zinchenko, with the latter missing out entirely due to injury.

Arsenal dominated from kick-off and after Trossard headed over the bar and had a volley saved by Alphonse Areola, the away side's pressure told as William Saliba headed in Rice's 32nd-minute inswinging corner.

Bukayo Saka was then brought down by Areola when through on goal, and after missing a spot-kick in last season's 2-2 draw, he stepped up and ensured history would not repeat itself as he sent the ball past Areola to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead in the 41st minute.

That goal was Saka's 50th for Arsenal in all competitions, as he became the fifth-youngest player to reach that figure for the club.

The goals kept coming for the Gunners as Gabriel made it 3-0 only three minutes later, heading in from another Rice set-piece, before Trossard fired in a fourth in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, netting for a second successive match.

Remarkably, Arsenal's 4-0 lead at half-time was the 60th time a Premier League team have led by this scoreline at the break, and the 20th time by an away side.

Only once had a team come from 4-0 down at half-time to salvage a point but West Ham may have taken some hope in the fact it was done against Arsenal, by Newcastle United, in 2010/11.

But West Ham soon found themselves 5-0 down, as Saka struck on 63 minutes when he cut inside and smashed the ball in at the near post.

Rice then marked his first league return to West Ham since leaving last summer with an incredible curling strike from 25 yards out into the top-left corner two minutes later.

The manner of Rice's strike was so impressive that it drew a brilliant reaction from Saka.

West Ham had no answers for Arsenal's attacking display and ended the match with only five shots, as they drop to eighth, with 36 points.

Club reports

West Ham report | Arsenal report

Match officials

Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Marc Perry, Steve Meredith. Fourth official: Graham Scott. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.