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MIKEL ARTETA: SEVEN-GOAL FIRST HALF IN WIN VS. WEST HAM 'CRAZY'

Mikel Arteta has described the first half of Arsenal's 5-2 win over West Ham as "crazy" after all seven goals were scored in the first 45 minutes of the game.

Arsenal raced into a 4-0 lead inside 36 minutes before being pegged back twice through goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson. Bukayo Saka slotted home a penalty in first-half stoppage-time to restore Arsenal's three-goal lead.

Saturday's game at the London Stadium tied the Premier League record for the most first-half goals in a match (seven). It is only the fourth time in history that seven goals have been scored in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match -- the last occasion coming in Manchester United's 4-3 win over Reading in December 2012.

"I didn't know that record," Arteta said. "But it tells you how crazy it was, how efficient both teams were in front of goal. It was a spectacular 30 minutes and straight away [you could see] how much the team wanted it, the purpose, determination and quality that we deliver to score three great goals in different ways and then score the fourth one in a great way as well.

"But then after that, we had a period where the individual quality of them played a big part, 4-2 and then it is game on. You can sense the energy change and [you think] what's next? It was great to score the fifth one because obviously that calmed everything down and in the second half we could play a very different game that was much suited for us."

Arsenal rose to second in the Premier League table after they beat West Ham 5-2 at the London Stadium on Saturday. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Arsenal took the lead after 10 minutes through Gabriel Magalhães' header before Leandro Trossard doubled the away side's lead.

Martin Ødegaard's 34th-minute penalty extended their advantage and Kai Havertz struck two minutes later as some home fans headed for the exits.

However, Wan-Bissaka and Emerson's quickfire double -- the latter a superb 25-yard free-kick crashed in off the underside of the crossbar -- briefly restored hope only for West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to then foul Gabriel to give Saka the chance to complete the scoring.

The result means Arsenal end Saturday in second place with leaders Liverpool due to face defending champions Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

- James Olley, Senior Writer, ESPN FC

MAN UNITED WON'T OVERPAY, RISK TRANSFER 'SETBACK' - CEO

Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada has said the club will not be held to ransom in their future transfer dealings because a bad deal can "set you back."

In the past, United have been accused of over-paying for players, both in terms of transfer fees and wages.

The first summer window under the new leadership team -- of which Berrada is part -- saw United spend close to £200 million ($221m) on five new players.

Berrada said the club were "disciplined" with the fees paid for new players while also highlighting the dangers of getting deals wrong

"We were able to do it [the summer window] in a financially sustainable way," Berrada said.

"We were quite disciplined about the valuations we were giving to the players who were going to come in. We stuck to those valuations. I think [sporting director] Dan [Ashworth] and the team did a fantastic job in the negotiations process.

"The reason I mention that is if you make a mistake and if you overspend or get a player who can cost you too much, it can set you back. Which is why you need to be able to take those decisions and make the right ones consistently over time to be in a position to win consistently."

As well as five new players, United also sanctioned the departures of a number of first-team squad members including Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Scott McTominay.

Sources have told ESPN that some within the club had reservations about letting McTominay leave for Napoli. Ashworth, though, said it was part of his job to make tough decisions.

"You have to be quite brave and make decisions that maybe you don't want to make," he said.

"But you can't have a bloated squad, and you're also dealing with players that ultimately want to play football. So you want to make sure that the squad is lean, but you have enough depth.

"The schedule, especially with the new Europa League format, is pretty punishing. So we want to make sure we've got enough depth that we don't carry a bloated squad and we're able to keep the players with the motivation and thought that they've got a chance of playing. If you run with too big a squad, it can cause problems. So you have to sometimes make some brave decisions on that."

Jadon Sancho was another senior player allowed to leave after he made the move to Chelsea, initially on loan, on deadline day.

It came almost a year after Sancho's public fall-out with Erik ten Hag but Ashworth insists the 24-year-old has not been "kicked out" of Old Trafford.

"I think with any player, whether it's Jadon, whether it's Scott or whether it's Aaron, if there's a preference that they would like to move and go to a new club and it's right for them and it's right for us, then you have to explore it," Ashworth said.

"We felt we had enough depth in that particular position to be able to cover it, we've got four really good wide players, Jadon was a fifth, and it just enabled us to make that decision that if it was good for him and good for us it was something we were willing to consider.

"It was a decision that we made. If it's right for Jadon and it's right for us to move on.

"He wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, like Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, like Aaron Wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham. We're not in a position where we're kicking players out of the club."

- Rob Dawson, Correspondent

MAN UNITED TARGET BAYERN MUNICH'S NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI - SOURCE

Noussair Mazraoui © Gallo Images

Manchester United are looking at a number of potential right-back signings including Bayern Munich's Noussair Mazraoui, a source has told ESPN.

United would like to add another right-back to their squad this summer, but it is likely to depend on Aaron Wan-Bissaka leaving Old Trafford.

Bayern defender Mazraoui is one of the names under consideration while the club has previously held an interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong. A source has told ESPN that the 26-year-old Morocco international will be allowed to leave the Allianz Arena if Bayern's valuation is met.

United have signed 18-year-old centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille, but remain open to further defensive additions during the window.

There is still interest in Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, although the German side are demanding a fee of more than £42 million.

United will consider offers for Wan-Bissaka, who has been the subject of interest from Galatasaray and West Ham United, and are hoping to return a fee of around £20m. The 26-year-old has one year left on his contract at Old Trafford.

Wan-Bissaka is likely to be part of the United squad which travels to Los Angeles on Wednesday for the start of their preseason tour with matches against Arsenal and Real Betis.

United are set to take a reduced number of staff to the U.S. amid plans to cut around 250 jobs from the workforce. A number of staff who have been told their jobs are at risk have been taken off the tour with the cost-cutting drive, led by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team, set to accelerate.

United declined to comment when asked about the staff reductions.