West Ham fielded the same starting XI that beat Chelsea on the weekend, while Arsene Wenger handed Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud their first Premier League starts of the season.
There was very little between the two sides in the first period but the game opened up after the break with both sides having chances to win the game.
Wilshere could have marked his first PL start in 577 days with a goal but he ballooned over from close range on 70 minutes, while Javier Hernandez hit the bar late on for the Hammers.
After a fairly slow start to the encounter, Marko Arnautovic thought he had headed the hosts in front on 15 minutes following a cross in from the left, but the offside flag rightly went up.
Wilshere’s influence in the game then started to grow and he played a one-two with Olivier Giroud on the edge of the box before finding Alexis Sanchez in a tight area, but the Chilean’s effort was deflected away to safety.
Arsenal had their best chance of the opening period just before the half-hour mark. Sanchez threaded a ball through to Alex Iwobi in the West Ham box and he unleashed a left-footed strike towards goal, but it cannoned of the near post and away from danger.
After the break, the Gunners cranked up the pressure and started to see more half-chances come their way. Hector Bellerin fizzed a shot wide from 25 yards out before Granit Xhaka saw a shot comfortably saved from range, and Giroud sent a header just wide following Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ ball in from the left.
Mesut Ozil poked wide from a good position just before the hour mark, but it was Wilshere who missed the best chance to win the game for Arsenal. Giroud nodded back into the path of the midfielder, but he smashed over from close range while under pressure from Angelo Ogbonna.
The Hammers defended valiantly in the final stages and despite having just 37% of the possession throughout the game, should have gone home with all three points. A sloppy pass from Laurent Koscielny allowed the home side to pick the ball up in the final third and Mark Noble slipped in substitute Hernandez. His effort struck the underside of the bar and bounced on the goal-line, but the referee’s watch said no goal and Arsenal lived to fight another day.
In the end, the woodwork denied West Ham a second straight victory in the Premier League. Arsenal enjoyed all the possession but they rarely found top gear at the London Stadium.