ARSENAL lost their first match at Emirates Stadium as relegation battlers West Ham recorded a shock 1-0 win. The Gunners had dominated for long spells and should have been out of sight, having created several clear chances early on.

However, the Hammers, inspired by goalkeeper Robert Green, weathered the storm and got themselves in front in first-half stoppage time through Bobby Zamora.

Despite all of their possession, Arsenal could not find a way back into the game and slipped to a third straight Premiership defeat.

While today's victory . . . a third in a row . . . does not lift the Hammers out of the bottom three, it will have given Alan Curbishley's men renewed hope they can survive come May, with the gap to safety now only two points.

It had been a flying start from Arsenal, and they almost took the lead within 90 seconds. A flick-on from Tomas Rosicky set Cesc Fabregas into the right side of the penalty area.

However, West Ham keeper Green was out quickly and got enough on the ball to deflect it just wide. The Gunners continued to attack in earnest. Emmanuel Adebayor got away down the left before cutting inside and sending a low, angled shot goalwards which Green held.

Arsenal had all the possession, but lacked both a telling pass and killer instinct.

Freddie Ljungberg beat the offside trap to latch onto Fabregas's through-ball.

Although he held off Anton Ferdinand, Green was again out quickly to the edge of the box and made a brave block at the feet of the Arsenal man.

West Ham finally saw some of the ball in midfield for a brief spell . . . sparking cheers of "Ole!" from their travelling fans . . . and even managed a shot from Lee Bowyer, which was charged down.

The visitors managed to lower the tempo of the match and started to look much more comfortable as the game wore on. Then, during stoppage time, the Hammers snatched a shock lead.

A long ball from Lucas Neill bounced ahead of Kolo Toure and into the path of Zamora.

Still 22 yards out, the striker stuck out a boot and sent the ball looping up over Jens Lehmann and into the net.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was clearly less than pleased - and his side left the field to boos. That clearly reinvigorated them for the second half but West Ham refused to lie down.

On 53 minutes, Zamora knocked the ball back for Lee Bowyer to strike from just outside the area, and Lehmann made a crucial save.

At the other end, England international Green produced another great stop as he got down quickly to his right to tip a low effort from Gilberto around the post.

The former Norwich man then pulled off a superb onehanded save to push away Adebayor's bullet from pointblank range after a deep freekick by Rosicky from the left.

Then, when Green was finally beaten by a stunning 18-yard drive from Fabregas, the ball cannoned back off the underside of the bar.

It was all Arsenal now, with Gilberto the next to head wide from inside the six-yard box.

With 26 minutes left, Curbishley made another change as former Gunner Luis Boa Morte replaced Zamora.

Arsenal sent on Jeremie Aliadiere for Hleb . . . and the young forward was soon in the thick of the action as his drive hit the side-netting.

Arsenal continued to press for an equaliser, but the battling Hammers stood firm, Green saving from Fabregas's header and Gilberto shaving the far post.

Abou Diaby came on for Gilberto in the 86th minute, but despite all their pressure and four minutes of added time, the goal just would not come and the 4,000-strong travelling fans celebrated a famous victory, which could yet prove priceless.