English Premier League: Marcus Rashford fires Manchester United to win over West Ham, Arsenal thrash Nottingham Forest

A first-half header from Marcus Rashford, his 100th goal for Manchester United in all competitions, was enough to earn his side a 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League.

After making a slow start to the match, United burst into life in the 38th minute when Rashford powered a bullet header into the net on the end of Christian Eriksen's sublime cross to give the home side the lead.

Rashford scores a goal.
Rashford scores a goal. Photo credit: Getty Images

Veteran forward Cristiano Ronaldo, making just his third league start of the season, wasted a golden chance to double United's lead early in the second half, firing wide from a good position, before West Ham upped the ante.

The visitors piled on the pressure as the match wore on, with David de Gea twice called into action to deny West Ham substitute Michail Antonio, producing superb stops on both occasions.

Another sensational save from De Gea to deny Declan Rice right at the death preserved United's victory which takes them above Chelsea into fifth in the standings, one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle United. West Ham stay 13th. 

Meanwhile, Arsenal thrashed Nottingham Forest 5-0 at the Emiratesto return to the top of the Premier League, but the win may have come at a cost after Bukayo Saka limped off midway through the first half.

Saka's replacement Reiss Nelson scored a brace to go with goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard. But the injury to the winger will be a major concern for manager Mikel Arteta and his England counterpart Gareth Southgate three weeks before the start of the World Cup in Qatar.

Arsenal move to 31 points from their 12 games, two ahead of Manchester City, while an outclassed Forest remain rooted to the bottom of the table with nine points having played a game more.

Saka was excellent in the opening minutes and it was his cross that was headed into the net by Martinelli for the opener, but he went down injured shortly afterwards after a challenge from Forest's Renan Lodi. Saka tried to continue but came off after 27 minutes.

Arsenal should have been further ahead at halftime but made sure of the points within the first 15 minutes of the second period as Nelson scored twice in quick succession, before Partey netted a stunning fourth with a curling shot from outside the box. Odegaard later blasted into the top corner from close-range.

Arsenal's next Premier League fixture is a trip across London to Chelsea next, while Forest host Brentford the day before. 

Reuters.