Arsenal travel east (and a bit south) across London to face West Ham in the Premier League this afternoon. The Gunners seem to be rounding into form and are looking for their second three-match winning streak of the season. With Martin Ødegaard back in the lineup, Arsenal thumped Nottingham Forest 3-0 and dazzled against Sporting CP, convincingly beating the Liga Portugal table-toppers 5-1. Mikel Arteta’s side have virtually no wiggle room remaining if they want to stay in the Premier League title chase, so the uptick in form couldn’t have come at a better time.
It’s tough to get a handle on West Ham. They’ve lost almost all the matches you’d expect them to lose and won most of the ones you’d pencil them in for winning. The most notable exceptions have come in their last two contests: a 0-0 draw against Everton at home and a 2-0 win over Newcastle away. Perhaps the takeaway is they’re an average side that will take what’s given to them, won’t make much on their own, and doesn’t usually give all that much away. They’re honest — they’ll make you earn your points but if you play well enough to win, you’re probably going to beat ‘em.
The last time the two clubs met, the Gunners hammered the Hammers. Arsenal put four past West Ham in the first half and added two more in the second. That 6-0 win came during that period in February and March when Mikel Arteta’s side were scoring for fun, somewhat regularly finding the net 3, 4, 5, and even 6 times a match. On the other hand, that drubbing came less than two months after West Ham beat a listless Arsenal side 2-0 at the Emirates in what was one of the worst performances and most damaging results for the Gunners all season.
Granted both of those results came last season, but they seem to support the conclusion that you get out what you put in against West Ham. Arsenal were beaten up and worn out at the Emirates and played poorly — they lost. Arsenal were rested and high-flying at the London Stadium — they smashed West Ham.
Julen Lopetegui’s side will be without the Arsenal-linked Mohammed Kudus, who is serving the last game of his 5-match suspension for putting his hands on Micky Van de Ven’s face / throat-area. Speaking of the West Ham manager, he’ll be watching from the stands because he picked up his third yellow card of the season in the Hammers’ 2-0 win over Newcastle. West Ham’s £27M summer signing, Niclas Fullkrug, is getting closer to a return from the Achilles injury that has kept him out since August, but he’s still a few matches away. Centerback Jean-Clair Todibo left West Ham’s most recent match with a knock — it’s not clear whether he’ll be available to face Arsenal today.
In his prematch press conference, Mikel Arteta gave a non-update on Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian centerback was forced off against Sporting with an injury, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be available today. There are rumors that Gabriel Martinelli may miss out with a minor issue, too. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are long-term absentees.
Arsenal – Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Jorginho, Rice, Ødegaard, Saka, Trossard, Havertz
West Ham – Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Soler, Soucek, Paqueta, Summerville, Antonio, Bowen
WHO: Arsenal at West Ham United
WHAT: Premier League Match Day 13
WHEN: Saturday, November 30th, 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST/5:30pm GMT
WHERE: London Stadium, London
HOW TO WATCH: Broadcast live on The USA Network. Streaming on NBCSports.com
