Credit: Arsenal.com
West Ham United’s performance in the Premier League this season has been relatively sub-par. The Hammers have managed to scrape out results here and there but have yet to gather any real momentum. Meanwhile, Arsenal Football Club has been brilliant, establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
The Hammers let go of their star player and last season’s club captain who led them to European glory in the Europa League last term, Declan Rice. The Englishman departed for North London’s resurgent big boys Arsenal FC in a club-record transfer deal. Other exits include Gianluca Scamacca and Nikola Vlasic who joined Italian Serie A club sides Atalanta and Torino, respectively; Arthur Masuaku who left for Turkish side Besiktas and Manuel Lanzini, going for River Plate on a free transfer.
West Ham United manager David Moyes made several additions to his squad, securing the services of exciting midfield talent Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez from Ajax Amsterdam, English set-piece specialist James Ward-Prowse from championship side Southampton, and Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from Bundesliga side VFB Stuttgart.
Arsenal was one of the busiest teams over the summer transfer window regarding sales and recruitment. The Gunners let go of long-time servant Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international joined German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.
Other exits include Folarin Balogun to Monaco, goalkeeper Matt Turner to Nottingham Forest, Pablo Mari to Italian Serie A side Monza and Rob Holding to Crystal Palace. Players who left on loan include Kieran Tierney to Real Sociedad, Nuno Tavares to Nottingham Forest, and promising winger Marquinhos to FC Nantes, while Nicolas Pépé, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sambi Lonkonga departed on free transfers, joining Trabzonspor, Olympique Lyon and Luton Town respectively. As for recruitments, the Gunners made some big-name signings including Declan Rice from West Ham, Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea, Jurrien Timber from Ajax Amsterdam, and current starting goalkeeper David Raya on loan from Brentford.
The Hammers have been unconvincing for the most of this Premier League campaign. They were decent at the start of the season, winning three of their first five matches, drawing one and losing one. However, Moyes’ men have not gathered any severe momentum since then, winning just four matches out of their last ten, managing two draws and suffering four defeats.
As of the time of writing, The Hammers are enjoying a fine run of form as they are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches, recording three wins and one draw. This unbeaten run was kick-started at home to Nottingham Forest with West Ham triumphing with a 3-2 result. Moyes’ men made it back-to-back wins with another 2-1 win against Premier League strugglers Burnley. A 1-1 stalemate against Crystal Palace was consolidated with an impressive 2-1 win away at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Arsenal on the other hand, has been the most impressive team in the Premier League so far, recording impressive wins against struggling big boys Manchester United and defending champions Manchester City. They also played fascinating 2-2 thrillers against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC, respectively. The Gunners have recorded four wins in their last five Premier League matches, suffering their only loss in a hotly contested match away against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park. Anthony Gordon got the only goal of the game in the 64th minute, albeit controversially as the ball appeared to have gone out for a throw-in before arsenal academy graduate cum Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock retrieved the ball and put in the cross that led to the goal for his team.
As of the time of writing, Arteta’s Gunners sit atop the Premier League table having racked up 36 points from fifteen games with Liverpool on 34 points in close pursuit. Meanwhile, West Ham United are ninth on the Premier League standings after managing just 19 points from fifteen games.
Being a London derby, this match promises to be intriguing as both teams will go all out to secure bragging rights over the other. Arsenal will look to control the game in and out of possession, especially in custody, while West Ham United will be looking to defend and counterattack the Gunners.
In terms of their head-to-head record, both teams have played 37 matches, with Arsenal coming up tops 24 times (total goals 74) and West Ham triumphing 6 times (total goals 34) with 7 draws.
Match tickets
The epic match at London Stadium in London kicks off on Saturday, 10th February 2024, at 3 PM UK time.
The magnificent 62,500-capacity stadium is the place to be for this London clash between one of the title contenders and European football hopefuls.
Getting tickets for the West Ham United vs Arsenal tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
West Ham prefer a much more direct and physical style of play. They will be looking to put off their opponents with their physicality. Areola is expected to continue in goal, while Kudus – fast becoming a crowd favorite – should start against the Gunners.
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Alvarez, Soucek, Bowen, Kudus, Paqueta
Arsenal are a side who are strong in possession and press aggressively out of possession. This enables them to dominate and control games in and out of possession.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Rice, Havertz, Odegaard, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Prediction
The Hammers will be hoping their physicality can overshadow the technicality of the Gunners. However, Arteta’s men have been very impressive thus far and they aren’t showing much signs of weakness at the moment.
West Ham United 1-3 Arsenal
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