Honours even - Hammers and Gunners share the points.

Honours even- Hammers and Gunners share the points.

The rain fell from an inconsolable East London sky. On a wintry evening at the London Stadium a glimmer of sunlight crept out of the murky darkness and suddenly West Ham began to look much healthier and sprightlier than in recent times so the latest medical report is a positive one. The signs are that if they keep taking the tablets the Hammers may feel whole lot  better about themselves before the the great Christmas jamboree.

Last night West Ham met their North London neighbours Arsenal in a lively if one sided Premier League encounter. For the best part of 90 minutes Arsenal more or less bossed this London derby and if this had been a boxing match then the referee would almost have certainly thrown in the bloodied towel. But West Ham clung on for dear life and a goal-less draw looked to be the most honourable outcome. Arsenal, for their part, may think that any realistic Premier League challenge will have to be put on the back burner for another season.

At the top of the Premier League the two Manchester clubs have taken up full time tenancy while the contenders behind them look like gasping marathon runners who seem to have hit the wall. Spurs beat Brighton 1-0 at Wembley Stadium, Chelsea took care of Huddersfield on Tuesday after the jolting setback at West Ham, Manchester United saw off Bournemouth and Liverpool are still gripping hold onto the coat tails of the rest. But it all seems fairly pointless and forlorn.

Still Arsenal came into last night's match against West Ham sensing perhaps that miracles may still happen but then recognised sensibly that the only way Manchester City are going to be moved from top spot is by a huge crowbar and a wrecking ball. Pep Guardiola's free wheeling, foot loose and fancy free City look almost certain to remain unbeaten until Christmas at the very least and for those who believe that they can be caught then you could be accused of wishful thinking. There is more chance of Santa Claus arriving on Christmas Eve. Ho Ho Ho! This is not the time for silly fantasies.

After their disappointing 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday, Arsenal probably felt this was a perfect chance to wallow in West Ham's current misfortune and finding their London neighbours in generous mood. In the corresponding game last December Arsenal destroyed West Ham at the London Stadium with a 5-1 victory that was a landslide waiting to happen. There was an air of meek surrender and capitulation that evening but a year later and West Ham are in much the same spot of bother. This time though there is no sulking Frenchman thinking fondly of home comforts.

When midfield playmaker Dimitri Payet finally took his leave of West Ham and returned to France with his family a heavy weight seemed to be lifted from West Ham's collective shoulders. The signing of Robert Snodgrass, although an adequate sticking plaster, was never more than a short term replacement. Snodgrass was indeed a fish out of water and although capable and workmanlike, was about as far removed from Payet as it was possible to be.

Now though West Ham have adopted that familiar air of discomfort that some felt was inevitable after all those moving problems to the London Stadium from Upton Park. Those curtains just don't look right and that kitchen is too big. Somehow the noise, atmosphere and acoustics will never be the same as the lovely old Boleyn Ground where the crowd seemed to give West Ham a goal start.

Poor Slaven Bilic departed the East End without so much as a whimper and new manager David Moyes has been charged with the unenviable task of propping up the Hammers, lifting the gloom and dejection and revitalising a West Ham side who seem to be sinking without trace. They may yet find  though the Christmas and the January transfer window to be their ultimate salvation.

For long periods West Ham seemed to be chasing so many black Arsenal shadows that gradually they were beginning to see stars. Arsenal flicked their passes between their players in short, sharp bursts of one touch brilliance that must have demoralised the home side. Their passing was so breathtakingly accurate and geometrically right that even the most eminent of draughtsmen would have been deeply impressed. West Ham were pinned back onto the ropes with nowhere to go.

When the likes of Mesut Ozil, the welcome return of Jack Wilshere to Arsenal's first team, Alexis Sanchez, Alex Iwobi and Olivier Giroud began to weave and stitch together their passing patterns. West Ham could only hover around their opponents like claret and blue clouds drifting towards nowhere in particular.

Arsenal were now sparring, toying, taunting and tormenting West Ham as if they were a rag doll. The passes were now fluttering around the pitch in and around small pockets of West Ham's stubborn defence. Here was the case of the matador waving the flamboyant cape and inviting the bull for yet more mind games. Eventually a claret and blue bull held its own and the whole contest fizzled out like a spent firework.

For West Ham this was another gritty, backs to the wall performance, a display of solidity, firmness, character and stern defensive resolution that could well serve their purpose for the time being. Sometimes an army does fight on its stomach but once the trenches are dug defensive measures become vital to the cause. In many ways West Ham looked as if they were walking through treacle such was their difficulty in finding a way out of their own half.

Long spells were spent spreading a claret and blue sheet across their embattled back four and then plodding their way laboriously forward like a beached turtle that has completely lost its bearings. No sooner had they won possession then Aaron Cresswell, Pablo Zabaleta, Winston Reid and Arthur Masuaku were giving the ball straight back to their opponents. It was probably on nights like this that they must have wished they'd stayed at home and caught up with the latest developments in Coronation Street.

Once again Pedro Obiang, captain Mark Noble and Manuel Lanzini were treating the ball as if it were the hottest potato, frequently denying any blame for giving the ball wastefully and then trying desperately to redeem themselves when it was far too late. Thankfully for West Ham, Oliver Giroud, the bearded French warrior, made all the wrong connections when the ball was played to him in the air and Alex Sanchez continues to look like the spoilt kid who can never get his way. Sanchez spent most of the evening moping and complaining about perhaps the colour of the ball or the East London rain. The overall impression was that in Chile it never rains and besides it's everybody else's fault but his. Football can seem so grossly unfair Alexis.

Still. this was a fair to middling night for those happy Hammers. Finally everything seems to be clicking for Austrian winger and forward Marko Arnautovic. And not before time some might have privately thought.  On Saturday Arnautovic had one of his most eye catching games for quite a while, running the Chelsea defence ragged and once again against Arsenal he drove his way forward on the flanks, nostrils flaring and eyes blazing.

On a more or less regular basis Arnautovic trapped the ball beautifully with his chest, turned and swivelled swiftly and did use the ball productively. Occasionally it all looked rather uncomfortable for the angular Austrian but the thoughts and deeds were certainly working in harmony. Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, the Arsenal full backs were spun around and turned deftly but ended the game frustrating Arnautovic.

For Michal Antonio, another source of danger on the other flank this was not quite the game tailored to his liking. Antonio is both strong and muscular but Arsenal were a different kettle of fish. Whenever West Ham were offered any kind of relief from Arsenal's carousel of passing movements, Antonio heroically stuck out his chest and sprinted along the touchline like a man in a permanent hurry. There were the menacing bursts into space and a passionate desire to win the ball. Sadly though this was not to be Antonio's evening and there were too many road blocks in front of him.

So it was that the match seemed to be drawing to what seemed the fairest of all conclusions. Then with the match in injury time and Arsenal rapidly running out of short cuts to West Ham's goal, the home side launched one final attack. A loose ball inside the Arsenal penalty area fell neatly at the feet at West Ham substitute Javier Hernandez who promptly curled the ball artistically towards Arsenal keeper Petr Cech. Then Hernandez experienced his very own Sir Geoff Hurst moment, the ball bouncing fiercely against the bar and dropping this time on the wrong side of the line. So close and yet so far.

With a trip to Stoke on Saturday and an appetising Christmas and New Year programme on West Ham's horizon this could be a season defining spell for the men in claret and blue. An impressive haul of points could be the difference between mid table safety and  a winter of discontent. It's never been easy following our favourite team of choice because most of us can recite the same song off by heart.

Then the cameras panned towards that tearful sky with its deluge of raindrops slanting across Stratford. The West Ham fans trooped out of the London Stadium with a modicum of hope in their heart but never entirely sure where hope would take them. The stadium lights were switched off and Christmas beckoned for those discerning Westfield shoppers. It was time to gather our thoughts for Boxing Day perhaps but then 1963 and Blackburn Rovers were briefly recalled. It may be the pantomime season but it is to be hoped that an 8-2 defeat will not be the abiding memory. We are indeed forever blowing bubbles.