Arsenal's title chances assessed after emphatic 6-0 win over West Ham

Yeah, they were brilliant, honestly. From second one, they took control of the game. The front four were so rotational, it allowed time on the ball for Arsenal. Nobody got time on the ball for West Ham, they were closed, there were no runners off it, but because of the movement of the front four of Arsenal, there were always people in space to receive the ball, take their time, and some of the passing moves were just sensational. It capped off by Declan Rice's brilliant 25-bending shot. It's a fantastic finish, but there's five others in there that West Ham have conceded. They're going to be very disappointed, West Ham, especially with some of the set-pieces they've conceded, but really and truly, Arsenal looked a class above today. How bad were West Ham, though, D? It's the worst home defeat since 1963, so it's pretty bad. But I think sometimes you have to hold your hands up. It doesn't matter whether you're eighth or eighteenth in the league, you have to hold your hands up and say, if you're up against the absolute top level, and Arsenal are that at the moment, and you're not as good, you have to, A, work incredibly hard, defend incredibly well, get a bit of luck, and they didn't really have all of that, and they were at their absolute best as well, Arsenal. So this can happen. I don't think David Moyes is going to absolutely hammer his players, because they're not the type of group to not normally put it in, and they still tried to keep it going in that second half when the fans had left, and a few players have put in a few not very nice tackles in trying to lift the team. It's one of those things you have to accept. If you said to West Ham fans at the start of the season, you'd play Arsenal three times and you'd win twice, they would take it. Of course they would. It's just, this feels horrible and looks horrible. Yeah, that win against Arsenal, last win for West Ham, seven without a win. What about the goal difference in terms of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal? Gareth, they're now plus 31 with Manchester City. City stay second virtue of goals scored. They're also just one off Liverpool's plus 32. Is it big today, potentially? It's a big statement, without a shadow of a doubt. That goal difference, even though we're not at the end of the season, people would have still been looking at that, saying they're just out of it on the goals scored or the goal difference. Now, game on. These top three teams, and we were just speaking in the break there about who's got who. I think Arsenal and Liverpool are done now with fixtures, but City have got to go to Anfield. Arsenal have got to go to City. There's twists and turns all through, right up until the end of the season. It's a fantastic Premier League, one of the best we've seen, one of the closest we've seen for a while, but the goal difference can't be underestimated now because at the end of the season, that may count. What did you make of Declan Rice against his former club, Dean? I mean, it was an easy game for him. He didn't have Paquetta to contend with, who would have been in that zone. So he could just mop up pretty easily today. His goal was magnificent and I'm sure he'd want to score more of those type of goals if he can be given the freedom to get closer to the edge of the box. And he showed respect in the way that he didn't celebrate the goal. He's just a top, top quality player. I think anyone would want to score more of those goals. That was fantastic, what a strike that is. We saw the table come up there, the Premier League table. How do you see the type of race? Liverpool two points clear, but Manchester City have a game in hand. Dean, do we consider Arsenal, because a lot of people almost were pooing the result against Liverpool last weekend, are they real, alive challengers now? Yeah, yeah. It's just who's going to make the fewest mistakes. It's as simple as that. If both Liverpool and Arsenal cannot make those mistakes, then as Gaz said there, those games against Manchester City in March is going to be crucial. Because that's the one thing I'd say about City, and they're on this run at the moment, is they're not going to drop many points. They're not. You can see them drop in, what, maybe one, two, not many. Could Arsenal beat them away? Could you see that happening? Yes, of course, yeah. They're more than capable, of course, and if Manchester City have got to go to Anfield, that's arguably the toughest place to go in the league. Next six for Arsenal here, you've got Burnley coming up in the Premier League away from home, Porto's the Champions League, and then Newcastle, Sheffield, United, Brentford in the Premier League. Is that a good opportunity to get some momentum up? Yeah, but you cannot not turn up for any game. You cannot just think something's easy just because we had the looting scenario earlier, that they'd been putting everything in, the top boys, they come and then Sheffield United suddenly outdo them. You cannot have any complacency now, and that's what makes a champion. That's what makes the top, the winners of the Premier League. It's complacency, it's mistakes. They've done enough to win it, they're always going to do enough to win it. It's those mistakes, maybe against a lower league side, a lower position side, that you wouldn't expect a draw here or there. You can't let this happen now, and that's going to be really important to who wins the title. Just getting a stat in from Opta, it was Arsenal's biggest away league win since December 1935. Do you feel that they believe they can win it significantly, Dean, after what happened last season? Yes, I think that Liverpool result was big, and you could see by the reaction how it felt and what it meant. I think for Arsenal in particular, after what happened last season, it is about, I think they can turn up and beat any side, the top sides, I'm talking about Manchester City and Liverpool. Sometimes that lack of concentration, maybe not taking their chances against some of the lesser sides, and then being caught and dropping points, that's what they've got to come up against, is that complacency. I think injuries are going to play a big part now. Can everybody stay fit, your top players in the big games that you need, can they keep these players fit, that's going to be crucial with all the games that they've got to play. This is serious though, this is West Ham, look at those teams there, with all due respect, we know Nottingham Forest, West Brom, obviously a championship team in the EFL Cup, that's a big, big win isn't it, for Arteta in terms of his standing, and David Moyes, West Ham's side that was a Cup winner last season and could have gone sixth today. Yeah, huge win. And let's not forget, West Ham are not a poor side in the Premier League, like you say, they could have gone sixth today. It's emphatic, it really is, away from home, they've clicked, they've really clicked, and as Dean says there, the only question mark would be an injury over a forward player, especially, have they got enough depth to replace that in those areas. Man City have obviously got their best players back now through injury, but they could pick up something, there's going to be twists and turns the whole way, but it's a huge win today and a huge statement. Believe me, the City players, the Liverpool players will know all about this result today and will be watching this and thinking, wow, Arsenal are some decent challengers this season. Dean, we spoke before the game, as a former West Ham player yourself, about what a good six, eight months it's been overall for West Ham, about how everyone wasn't enamoured with David Moyes, where does that result leave his future, do you feel, with the contract unsigned? Look, if you're not a fan of David Moyes, then that's a game today you can go, well here, I told you, this is what we're like, and those that have left are probably in that camp that feel that David Moyes has had his time now and he's won us a trophy, but it's not the style we enjoy watching. They effectively let the opposition have 60% of the possession, whether that's Arsenal or whether that's Bournemouth, and David Moyes won't change, that's the way he likes to play, it's the way he sees the game, it's the way he sees the players that he's got, but it does show, and it surprised me slightly, that without Paquetta, they're looking an average team going forward. He is obviously that crucial, with him hopefully to come back, and Antonio as well from injury, David Moyes needs that, he needs those players back. I'd say the big thing for me now is the reaction after this game. David Moyes can hold his head up high no matter what at West Ham after this season. He's won a trophy last season for them, first one for years, many a year, but how will he get over this now? As a manager you get days like this, you have days like this, I think it's up to David Moyes to manage, but next week's so important, get back on the horse, I think it's Notts Forest, concentrate on that more than trying to pick the bones out a sensational team that tore you apart. That happens sometimes, get on the next one now and see what happens, but as Dean says, he's got his knockers, David Moyes, you know what you're going to get, but big fan, played with him so I'm going to say that, but I think he's done a sensational job at West Ham, getting them their trophy and putting them where they are in the Premier League right now.