Much has been written about the frosty relationship between Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adebayor, but it was Arsenal’s odd couple who came to their team’s rescue on an evening when it seemed likely that they would lose ground on Liverpool in the race for the Barclays Premier League title.

Bendtner, starting in place of Adebayor, who was given a well-deserved rest after his midweek Champions League exertions in Istanbul against Fenerbahçe, struggled to impose himself until help arrived in the shape of the Togo forward. Within eight minutes of Adebayor replacing Theo Walcott in the second half, Arsenal were in front after Julien Faubert, the West Ham United defender had turned the substitute’s low cross into his own net. Adebayor wrapped up the victory in the dying minutes by racing on to a breathtaking 50-yard crossfield pass by Bendtner before lashing the ball into an empty net with Robert Green, the West Ham goalkeeper, stranded in no man’s land. “I had something to prove,” Adebayor said. “It was frustrating to be on the bench but the most important thing is that we won the game.”

Arsenal would have won with something to spare if Green, who always seems to save his best for Arsenal, had not been in such inspired form. The goalkeeper had to be at full stretch to keep out strikes from Bendtner, Walcott and Robin van Persie, but was lucky not to be sent off after he caught the ball outside the penalty area when under pressure from Bendtner midway through the first half. “Their goalkeeper was outside the box and they could have played with ten men,” Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said. “He always has the game of his life against us. It was unbelievable, he does that every year.”

West Ham had their chances too, especially before Adebayor and Bendtner clicked into gear in the second half. Gianfranco Zola had promised that his team would attack and the West Ham manager was true to his word. With combat veterans such as Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer returning to the starting XI, West Ham had plenty of bite in midfield and were unlucky not to take the lead in the 28th minute when Manuel Almunia’s outstretched left leg prevented Bellamy from giving his side the lead.

The result could also have been different if Phil Dowd, the referee, had pointed to the spot when Abou Diaby and William Gallas appeared to handle the ball in the penalty area after the interval. Television replays suggested that Dowd had made the right calls, but the referee was at fault when he showed Carlton Cole, the West Ham forward, a straight red card in the dying seconds for a late challenge on Alexandre Song that deserved only a caution. Zola confirmed that he would try to convince Dowd to look at the incident so that Cole would not be suspended for his team’s visit to Manchester United on Wednesday.

“I’m not worried at all because we are going to get through this,” Zola said after watching his side lose three games in a row. “We’re going to become a team that will be hard to be beat. Arsenal are the model that we have to follow.”

Wenger is used to that sort of compliment and the Frenchman was in such a good mood when he left Upton Park that he could afford to joke about Gallas’s recently acquired smoking habit. “He played well today,” Wenger said. “He must have smoked something good.”

West Ham United (4-3-3): R Green 9 - J Faubert 6, J Collins 7, M Upson 7, H Ilunga 6 - L Bowyer 6, S Parker 7 H Mullins 6 - C Bellamy 7, D Di Michele 7, C Cole 7. Substitutes: F Sears (for Bowyer, 88min), L Boa Morte (for Parker, 77), M Etherington (for Di Michele, 77). Not used: J Lastuvka, W Lopez, C Davenport, J Collison. Next: Man Utd (a).

Arsenal (4-4-1-1): M Almunia 8 - E Eboué 7, W Gallas 7, M Silvestre 7, G Clichy 8 - T Walcott 7, F Fàbregas 7, A Song 7, S Nasri 6 - R van Persie 8, N Bendtner 7. Substitutes: E Adebayor 8 (for Walcott, 67min), A Diaby (for Nasri, 67), B Sagna (for Van Persie, 90). Not used: L Fabianski, K Touré, A Ramsey, J Djourou. Next: Tottenham (h)