Arsenalvs.West Ham

Mikel Arteta's men conquered Leicester City 2-0 last weekend thanks to a new attacking hero, while their visitors' plight continued in a painful 1-0 home loss to capital counterparts Brentford.

Match preview

With Liverpool now showing signs of vulnerability previously unseen under Arne Slot - two 2-2 draws with Everton and Aston Villa either side of an unconvincing triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers - Gooners may now have a glint in their eyes once more.

The Arsenal faithful could have been forgiven for writing off their side's title chances after a costly trip to Dubai, which proved to be a season-saving trip in the 2023-24 campaign but was only a season-ending break for hamstring victim Kai Havertz this time around.

The Gunners' failure to bring in a new attacker in January seemingly proved fatal against Leicester last weekend, only for makeshift marksman Mikel Merino to bag a late brace in the final 10 minutes and propel Arsenal to their third Premier League win in succession.

Arteta's men could have been as many as 10 points behind Liverpool at this juncture, but should Manchester City do them a massive favour this weekend while they take care of business against West Ham, the deficit will be just five points with a game in hand on Slot's crop.

While Arsenal should not bank on an ailing Man City to put another dent in Liverpool's title aspirations, Saturday's hosts should be confident of doing all they can even in their striker-less state, as the Gunners are the only team in the Premier League with their unbeaten home record for the season still intact.

Not since April last year have Arteta's men been slain in a Premier League home game - navigating each of their last 15 without suffering defeat - but visitors West Ham only have to rewind a few days for their latest setback at the London Stadium.

A 12-day break in between matches arguably did the Irons more harm than good, as Kevin Schade's fourth-minute strike - which only just crossed the line despite the best efforts of Alphonse Areola - settled last weekend's capital derby in Brentford's favour.

Unlike at Chelsea - where his tenure commenced with a terrific nine-game unbeaten run before things turned sour - Graham Potter has not brought the famed new manager bounce to West Ham, who sit 16th in the table but at least have a healthy 10-point buffer over the relegation zone.

However, collecting just four points from their last seven Premier League matches - five of which have ended in defeat - may raise fears of the 2022-23 Conference League winners being dragged into a demotion dogfight should results not improve, not to mention their recent defensive disasters versus Arsenal.

The Irons may have left the Emirates with a shock 2-0 win to their name last term, but they have since conceded 11 goals to Arteta's men in harrowing 6-0 and 5-2 home losses, meaning that Arsenal could now score 5+ goals in three straight league games against a single team for the first time in the Premier League era.

Arsenal Premier League form:

D

W

D

W

W

W

Arsenal form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

L

W

West Ham United Premier League form:

L

W

L

D

L

L

West Ham United form (all competitions):

L

W

L

D

L

L

Team News

It is expected to be as you were on the injury front for Arsenal, who have now seen Takehiro Tomiyasu join Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in the season-ending injuries club after the Japan international underwent surgery on a knee problem.

Hamstring victims Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli remain out too - although both are reportedly pushing to return after the March international break - and needless to say, Arteta's only true selection dilemma lies in the final third.

Merino flourished after Raheem Sterling floundered in the win over Leicester, and the Gunners boss now faces a critical decision over whether to sacrifice the Chelsea loanee or leave Merino on the bench in the hope of another super-sub performance.

West Ham should also come into the latest London derby with an identical squad, as Michail Antonio (leg), Crysencio Summerville (hamstring), Niclas Fullkrug (hamstring) and recent absentee Vladimir Coufal (hamstring) are all sidelined.

A telltale sign of just how poor West Ham were in the first half of their loss to Brentford, Potter made no fewer than three changes at the break, removing all of Emerson Palmieri, Carlos Soler and Tomas Soucek from the XI.

The latter two in particular may be at risk of losing their places at the Emirates, where Potter may be tempted to throw in set-piece specialist James Ward-Prowse and Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Evan Ferguson, in what would be a first Irons start for the latter.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Alvarez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Ferguson

We say: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham United

Another glut of goals against the Hammers is surely off the table for a striker-starved Arsenal, but chance creation should not be a problem for the Gunners with the electrifying Ethan Nwaneri in his current form.

Written by

Ben Knapton

Previews by email