Gabriel Martinelli latched onto a through-ball in the 48th minute from stand-in captain Alexandre Lacazette that sliced past three defenders and set the Brazilian clear on goal from the left.

Substitute Emile Smith Rowe sealed the victory with a clever run and a fine strike from the edge of the area in the 87th that wrong-footed their Hammers' former Gunners goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

The players ran to a corner to celebrate with the Emirates Stadium faithful as manager Mikel Arteta could finally be allowed to break into a smile on the sidelines.

The win came a day after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy for another disciplinary breach and was exactly what the Gunners needed to put the tumult at the club behind them.

Arsenal are now on 29 points, leapfrogging the Hammers, who are in fifth with 28.

The hosts could even afford to squander a penalty after West Ham right back Vladimir Coufal was adjudged to have fouled Lacazette in the box in the 66th.

Coufal was sent off after being shown a second yellow card before Lacazette's spot kick was pushed away by Fabianski.

Arteta told BT Sport: "I was really pleased with the performance, the energy and passion which the team were able to transmit again with the crowd... The performance, attitude and commitment they showed is exactly what we are about as a club.

"We have a leadership group and I expect that from every player, to stick to our values and do what they have to do."

Arteta refused to be drawn further on the fall-out with Aubameyang.

The Spaniard, a former Gunners captain himself, said: "We will talk about that another day. He was not eligible for this game, that's it and this game is gone now."

Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers won 1-0 at Brighton courtesy of a tidy Romain Saiss volley while draw specialists Crystal Palace and Southampton battled out a 2-2 result on a night in which another Premier League game -- Burnley v Watford -- was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak.

A poor Brighton clearance from a corner just before the break landed and the feet of Ruben Neves and his sublime chip over the defence from the edge of the area teed up Saiss to score with a deft volley.

At Selhurst Park, Palace forward Jordan Ayew scored on 65 minutes for his first goal for the club in 13 months to grab a share of the points after an early opener from Wilfried Zaha had given the hosts the advantage.

The Saints hit back with a brilliant free kick from captain James Ward-Prowse while Armando Broja scored in the 36th minute of a pulsating first half.

with Reuters and PA

Australian Associated Press