Preview: West Ham United v Arsenal | Match preview | News
After the jubilation of reaching the Champions League final on Tuesday night, we can now turn our attentions solely to our quest to claim the Premier League title, with the first of our final three fixtures seeing us head to West Ham United on Sunday (4.30pm UK).
A giant step towards a first league championship in 22 years can be taken should we leave the London Stadium victorious, a venue where we have triumphed 5-2 and 6-0 on our past two visits, while we have lost just one of our last 17 away league games at the Hammers.
But Nuno Espirito Santo’s current side are battling hard to preserve their 14-year stay in the top-flight, and haven’t lost on their own turf since January. The result of this game will have huge consequences at the top and bottom of the division, as the finishing line gets ever closer.
HAMMER BLOW
It’s been a season of two halves for West Ham, who swapped Graham Potter with Nuno Espirito Santo in September. After three wins from their opening 21 games, a January recruitment drive saw £47 million spent on attacking midfielder Pablo and striker Taty Castellanos, plus Chelsea defender Axel Disasi joined on loan.
The reshuffle has paid dividends with 19 points claimed from their last 13 games, helping them unroot themselves from the relegation zone during April. However last weekend’s 3-0 loss at Brentford saw them leapfrogged by Tottenham Hotspur as the duo embark on what looks like a straight shootout to avoid Championship football next season.
Despite that reverse last week, the Hammers are unbeaten in their last six home matches stretching back to January. They held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at home in March, and are seeking three home wins in a row after recent successes against Wolves and Everton.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Arteta: “We’ll have time to prepare and get ready for the final, but now the focus, the attention, the detail, the energy, everything has to be put into West Ham. There is nothing else there, and we made it very clear.
“We need to stay present, live the moment, prepare and show the same level of energy, hunger and desire that we’ve shown all season, or more, because we are closer and closer. Everything that we do now is going to matter to win it or not.”
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Nuno: “I think they need confidence, especially the players in our frontline. Things will change. Sunday is the day. We’ve been working well; committed and focused. We realise the importance (of the game). We are getting ready. We are going to be ready.
“Being at home is good for us, especially recently. Our fans are being really, really helpful. It’s always nervy; especially in the final games of the season, there is always anxiety. It’s up to us to try and control our nerves and deliver what we want.”
TEAM NEWS
After Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz returned to our matchday squad in midweek, our only injury concerns surround Jurrien Timber, who continues to rehab a groin injury sustained against Everton six weeks ago, and Mikel Merino who has been out since January after foot surgery.
Incredibly at this stage of the season, Nuno has virtually a fully-fit squad to pick from, with only former Gunner and third-choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski unavailable with a back injury.
TALKING TACTICS
Adrian Clarke: In recent weeks, Nuno has settled on a 4-4-1-1 with Pablo operating behind Castellanos. West Ham will allow us to have most of the ball, as their possession average of 42.6% is the second-lowest in the division, and try to frustrate us with their compactness before winning the ball back and breaking on us at speed.
Since the turn of the year, they have been well-organised and carried a threat up front; even in defeat at Brentford last weekend, they struck the woodwork three times. So, even if they only put us under sporadic pressure, they do have players in form who can hurt us.
Wing flyers Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville are excellent at carrying the team up the pitch. Nuno’s side lean most of their attacks to the England man’s right wing, from where the Hammers skipper has consistently impacted games, with eight goals and 10 assists. When Bowen cuts in on his left foot, David Raya will need to be on his toes.
However, having conceded 17 times from dead-ball situations, West Ham share the worst record in the Premier League with Liverpool and Bournemouth. Perceived as a little fragile in the air, they have leaked 16 headed goals, the most of all 20 top-flight teams, and given we have scored an all-time record 17 times from corners in the Premier League, this is an area we can exploit.
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FACTS AND STATS
West Ham have lost 38 Premier League games against us – they’ve only lost more often against Liverpool (39), while we have only beaten Everton more often (40).
We have won our last two away league games against West Ham 6-0 in 2023/24 and 5-2 last season. In English league history, only West Brom have scored 5+ goals in three consecutive away games against an opponent (v Birmingham between 1957 and 1960).
We have scored the opening goal in the first 10 minutes of each of our last two league matches. We haven’t done that in three games in a row since September/October 2002 against Leeds, Sunderland and Everton.
The Hammers have lost 10 of their last 12 league London derbies on home soil, losing all five this season by an aggregate scoreline of 2-13. No team in English league history have ever lost six home games against fellow London teams in a campaign.
We have lost just one of our last 22 away London derbies in the Premier League, going unbeaten in the last 12 since a 2-1 loss at Fulham in December 2023.
We have been awarded five penalties in our last six league games against West Ham, including at least one in each of their last three visits to the London Stadium.
Bukayo Saka has been involved in more Premier League goals against West Ham than any other opponent (5 goals, 4 assists), with these nine involvements coming in his last eight appearances.
Viktor Gyokeres has scored nine goals in his last 12 league games, the most of any player in this timeframe (January 31 onwards).
Jarrod Bowen has scored in four of his last six home games against us in all competitions, but only ended up on the winning side in a 3-1 League Cup win in 2023/24.
Gabriel has scored in three of his four Premier League appearances at the London Stadium, all being headers from set pieces.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Chris Kavanagh takes charge of us for the fifth time this season, which saw us lose at Liverpool before beating Burnley, Bournemouth and Brentford on our travels. The defeat at Anfield was the solitary one from the last 15 Gunners games the Manchester-based official has overseen, stretching back to February 2021.
The Hammers meanwhile have won two of the last 11 games refereed by Kavanagh, with his only one this season seeing them defeated in a home London derby to Fulham in December. No official has awarded more penalties in the top-flight this season than his seven so far.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistants: Dan Cook, Ian Hussin
Fourth official: James Bell
OUR: Darren England
Assistant VAR: Akil Howson
RECENT TRIPS TO WEST HAM
We have lost just one of our last 17 away league games against West Ham, and are unbeaten in our last six league visits to the London Stadium, when we’ve scored at least twice in each game.
A five-goal haul came on our last visit in November 2024, all of which came in the first half when Gabriel, Leandro Trossard, Odegaard, Havertz and Bukayo Saka all found the net in a 5-2 success, while the season before saw us record our joint-best-ever away win in the league.
Efforts from William Saliba, Saka, Gabriel and Trossard put us 4-0 up at half-time, before Saka added a second and Declan Rice netted a long-ranger to cap off a memorable afternoon. The season before, Gabriel Jesus and Odegaard put us 2-0 up inside 10 minutes, but after Said Benrahma’s penalty reduced the arrears, Saka missed from 12 yards before a Bowen strike helped the hosts earn a point.
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LIVE COVERAGE
Tune into Live From N5 on The Arsenal app (download now on iOS/Android) just before kick-off to hear live commentary of the game provided by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke, who will guide you through all the action if you’re out and about.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the game live wherever you are in the world.
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How to watch West Ham United v Arsenal live on TV
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