So many of Arsenal’s players are smack bang in the middle of blossoming that Arsenal supporters must be experiencing a sort of reverse form of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Each match seems to underline how another young player has graduated from “highly promising” to “finished article”. On Saturday, it was Mathieu Flamini. “He is growing,” Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager said. “He has a bossy attitude and he’s an organiser and a fighter.” It was no surprise that this week’s “player in full bloom” award should go to a midfield player for his combativeness.

Arsenal were away from home in a London derby against a team that won both league games against them last season and in so doing made Wenger’s team look a mite naive. Arsenal’s perceived weakness has been to look fragile in certain away fixtures, but on Saturday they surprised West Ham with their resilience.

“Flamini and [Cesc] Fàbregas are very strong in the middle of the park,” Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager said. “I think one of them persistently fouled today.” Flamini looked a safe bet to be transferred in the summer because he was disillusioned with a lack of first-team football. “He told me first he wanted to leave and of course I couldn’t do anything against that because he had the right,” Wenger said. “When he changed his mind, I said OK, you fight like everybody else for your job and for your position and he does that well. He realised he was maybe at a place where he will get a chance if he is doing well.

“He’s a winner. He has improved in football terms; his vision is better, his presence is better and overall at the moment he is doing very well.”

Fredrik Ljungberg, facing his former club and full of verve, had an effort ruled offside with replays proving it was the wrong decision. Dean Ashton was a threat, too, and perhaps should have done better with a clear heading opportunity. In the end Robin van Persie’s thirteenth-minute goal proved decisive, Alexander Hleb delivering the perfect pass for him to head past the otherwise excellent Robert Green. Curbishley was full of praise for Hleb.

“Hleb was fantastic and epitomises Arsenal: quick feet, quick brain, quick movement, simple things like throw-ins and quick free kicks. That enabled them to get the ball down, get it to feet and shift it somewhere else.”

The Belarus midfield player was carried off on a stretcher after half an hour, however, after a rash challenge by Mark Noble for which the West Ham player was booked. Wenger suggested that the rules on bookings need to be changed. “If you get away with it [only a booking] during the game you cannot be punished any more [than that],” he said.

West Ham United 0

(4-4-2): R Green 7 – L Neill 6, A Ferdi-nand 5 (sub: D Gabbidon, 48min), M Upson 5, G McCart-ney 5 – L Bowyer 5 (sub: L Boa Morte, 84), M Noble 4, S Parker 6 (sub: H Mullins, 46), F Ljungberg 6 – H Camara 4, D Ashton 7. Substitutes not used: R Wright, C Cole. Booked: Noble, Bowyer. Next: Aston Villa (a)

Arsenal 1 Van Persie 13

(4-4-2): M Almunia 5 - B Sagna 6, K Touré 6, P Senderos 5, G Clichy 5 – A Hleb 6 (sub: E Eboué, 31), C Fàbregas 6, M Flamini 7, A Diaby 5 – E Adebayor 6 (sub: Gilberto Silva, 80), R van Persie 7 (sub: N Bendtner, 89). Substitutes not used: L Fabianski, Denilson. Booked: Eboue, Flamini. Next: Sunderland (h).

Referee: A Wiley

Attendance 34,966