Mikel Arteta spoke glowingly of his side's dominant performance and described Bukayo Saka as "unbelievable" following a 2-0 win over West Ham.

Goals from Declan Rice and Saka secured all three points for the Gunners, who leapfrogged Liverpool to reach the Premier League summit, where they will remain for the international break after the champions lost 2-1 at Chelsea later on Saturday.

Rice netted in the 38th minute against his former club, before Saka doubled Arsenal's lead from the penalty spot after El Hadji Malick Diouf fouled Jurrien Timber. 

Arteta's side had fallen to defeat in their previous two meetings with the Hammers at the Emirates Stadium, but Saturday's victory means they have won five of their last six games across all competitions. 

Overall, just six players in Premier League history have reached 100 goal involvements at a younger age than Bukayo Saka. pic.twitter.com/rLHfQG1ybA

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) October 4, 2025

"The last two games have been very special. Newcastle, because we had a history there, with a lot of scars and a lot of learning to take, we put that right," Arteta said. 

"Then we had West Ham, losing two games at home in the previous two seasons. I told them it was a big opportunity. We’ve had very difficult fixtures since the start of the season, and some very bad injuries as well, not helping us.

"Still, the team is performing, playing well, winning today with absolute dominance and without conceding a goal. So it's good to get to the international break in this spirit."

Saka made his 200th appearance in the Premier League, becoming the seventh-youngest player to reach the milestone at 24 years and 29 days old, and the second youngest to do so for Arsenal behind Cesc Fabregas in 2011 (23 years, 242 days).

The forward also hit another landmark by recording his 100th Premier League goal involvement, making him the seventh-youngest player to achieve that feat and the youngest since Romelu Lukaku in February 2017 (23 years, 267 days).

"When you look at those numbers, 200 games, 100 goal involvements, it's unbelievable," Arteta said when reflecting on Saka's achievement.

"His age, what he's doing, the way that he's doing it as well... it's really impressive. Those are the kind of players that we need, to achieve what we want."

 "I don't take these moments for granted."

A special day for Bukayo 

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 4, 2025

Meanwhile, West Ham have now faced more shots on target than any other side in the Premier League this season (34, including a further five today), with Nuno Espirito Santo still awaiting his first win as their head coach. 

"I think it’s not easy to be always together in such a difficult game," Nuno said. 

"There are moments of frustration, but I think the boys answered well. Many parts of our game we did well, and not so well in other aspects. We are moving forward."