Exhilarating Arsenal best-placed to challenge Liverpool after thumping win
Mikel Arteta’s players crammed two games-worth of goals into little more than half an hour, returning Arsenal to second place and the position of the Premier League’s official challengers one day before the big one at Anfield.
The north Londoners were four goals up in 35 minutes, they went in at half-time 5-2 ahead, a scoreline that equalled the Premier League record for the most goals in a first half. There were times when West Ham presented the chances to their visitors on a figurative velvet cushion but Arsenal took them well.
For Bukayo Saka there were three assists on top of the penalty he tucked away for Arsenal’s fifth, making it a total of 18 goals and assists in 18 games. “Definitely the last three games we have been back [to form],” Saka told Sky Sports afterwards, and that is hard to argue against.
The outcome of Manchester City’s visit to Anfield on Sunday will be an early indicator as to how the early leaders Liverpool might set the pace in the title race. They have taken advantage of City’s remarkable slump while Arsenal have needed it to offset some of their own shortcomings. But Arsenal have won their past two league games, scoring eight goals. The run of games that awaits them looks gentler, starting with Manchester United at the Emirates on Wednesday.
Three consecutive wins in all competitions had, Arteta said, given Arsenal “momentum”. “We have,” he remarked, “got some flow back.”
Gabriel Magalhães, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz all scored in a desperate first half for West Ham – mitigated in part by the two goals they scored at 4-0 down. Their manager Julen Lopetegui, serving a touchline ban, will be grateful for small mercies. The home fans just about quelled the booing they may have felt the performance deserved, although the place was empty by full-time. West Ham’s form is as unpredictable as much of their defending.
They have lost by four goals against Spurs, by three to Nottingham Forest and now this first-half defeat. The wins over Manchester United and away the previous week at Newcastle United muddy the picture. Lopetegui complained, for the Arsenal corner routine that led to the first goal, Jurrien Timber pushed Lucas Paquetá so he was unable to head the ball clear.
“In all offensive blocks there is a limit,” Lopetegui said. “All coaches prepare set-pieces with blocks. In my opinion he [Paquetá] had the position … [and Timber pushed him] without the intention to play the ball. We have a lot of talks in [meetings] with the referees about these kinds of actions. Sometimes we are a little bit lost with the interpretation of the rules.”
In an extraordinary first half, West Ham fans streamed out as Arsenal took a four-goal lead. Some streamed back in when their side responded. And then many went back out again, perhaps for a pint, or maybe even the train home. Four goals down in fewer than 40 minutes. Back to 4-2 after two in the space of three minutes and eventually they reached the seventh minute of time added on at what was the end of the first half with Arsenal in a 5-2 lead.
One can only say that West Ham were desperate for most of it. Overrun in midfield, hapless in defence and generally giving the impression, although Lopetegui said otherwise, that they had not prepared at all for Arsenal’s excellent set-piece routines.
This was, nevertheless, a first half of tremendous entertainment. Saka won the first of his team’s two penalties for Odegaard to score. He stroked in the second Arsenal penalty after Łukasz Fabiański had tried to punch the ball clear and almost knocked out Gabriel. The defender came off at half-time, although Arteta said that related to an existing injury. Another Arsenal defender, Riccardo Calafiori, also came off in the second half with a persistent issue.
It was dire for West Ham although their two goals were both excellent. First from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, running on to a ball into the right channel. Then a perfectly executed free-kick from Emerson. In those moments West Ham looked quite convincing, but those moments were fleeting.
At left-back, Emerson was having his blood twisted by Saka. In midfield, Paquetá gave the ball away at critical moments. Max Kilman was out of position wherever he seemed to go. The disputed first goal was a classic Arsenal corner regime as Gabriel lost his man with a run around the back of the West Ham defenders and nodded in Saka’s cross.
Trossard rolled in the second from Saka’s cross from the right – an opening well worked with the help of Havertz and Odegaard. Paquetá fouled Saka for Odegaard’s successful penalty. The same Brazilian lost the ball in midfield for the fourth. Trossard went long, Kilman fell over, Havertz finished.
Exhilarating for Arsenal. The home fans started to leave their seats in their hundreds all over the stadium. Many of them will have watched the Wan-Bissaka and Emerson goals on the concourse screens. But that penalty at the end of the first half for Saka, after Fabiański’s misjudgment, took the edge off it. Lopetegui thought it was not a penalty. “The fifth [Arsenal] goal killed the game,” he said, and he was right.
07:51 PM GMT
Jurrien Timber speaks to Sky
It was fun to play in. We scored a lot of goals which is always fun. We picked it up really well after theys cored twice and in the second half we killed the game.
We felt really strong. The first goal was a set-piece and Gabriel was amazing. We have to keep the momentum going because we have a really big game with United coming [up].
The players around me are so good, it makes it easy.
07:47 PM GMT
Bukayo Saka speaks to Sky Sports
It was a very strong start and we played something like that last year [when winning 6-0 there]. We knew we wanted to start strong and definitely did that.
I am just constantly looking to improve, create and score goals for this team. I’m doing that right now, Im playing with confidence and enjoying my football. I want to continue like this.
I’m taking a lot of pleasure [from the assists]. I like to create and score but I take most pleasure from winning. I’m really happy today.
The last three games we’ve been back to our best, fluid and dynamic with our play and rotations [since Odegaard’s return]. We need to continue like this. We’ve played three good games but in this league it’s not enough. We’ve got another big game against Manchester United next week and we’ve got to keep it up.
07:34 PM GMT
Arsenal up to second
They are now two points ahead of Brighton and Man City, three ahead of Chelsea and six behind Liverpool who, like City and Chelsea have a game in hand.
West Ham stay in 14th, a point behind Man Urd, four in front of Everton.
5 - Arsenal have scored 5+ goals in five away games in all competitions in 2024, a joint-record by an English top-flight team in a single calendar year, along with Sunderland in 1892 and Manchester City in 1937. Relentless. pic.twitter.com/1uWL5qexUr
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
07:29 PM GMT
Full time: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Seven goals in 40 minutes followed by none in the final 50 as Arsenal end the chaos with efficient aplomb.
07:28 PM GMT
90+5 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Gary Neville anoints Bukayo Saka as the player of the match. And Anthony Taylor blows for time.
A game of two halves? Not half.
07:27 PM GMT
90+3 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Soucke is booked for a swipe across Jorginho’s ankles after Gabriel Jesus follows Sterling in firing into the side netting. Smart footwork to open the shooting chance, nonetheless.
07:26 PM GMT
90 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Ings with a golden chance after rounding Raya when the keeper and Saliba play ‘after you, Claud’ to deal with Alvarez’s pass. Raya’s dive forces Ings wide but with the goal open, he spears the ball across the six-yard box and behind at the far post.
Five minutes of stoppage time to come.
07:22 PM GMT
88 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Arsenal free-kick to the right of the D. Sterling lines it up and gets it up and over the wall. Fabianski was unsighted and rooted to the spot, watching the shot fade wide.
07:19 PM GMT
85 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Rice drives up the centre, Jesus makes a good left to right run into space but Rice chooses to slip it to Sterling bombing down the wing instead. Sterling cuts in off the left and flays a shot into the side netting.
07:17 PM GMT
83 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Wan-Bissaka slides in from the side on Havertz and gets the ball... just before he knocks the Germany forward off his feet. No foul.
Nwaneri ⇢ Trossard.
Can we go back to three subs please. And smaller benches.
07:15 PM GMT
81 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
A second exodus of Hammers’ fans, some of them for the second time, begins. ‘Both teams have been restricted, Arsenal not wanting the shock of another goal in the back of their net and West Ham not wanting to lose seven or eight,’ says Gary Neville on why the craziness has stopped. Both sides happy with 2-5?
07:12 PM GMT
80 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Yet more subs:
Rodriguez ⇢ Soler
Irving ⇢ Paqueta.
07:11 PM GMT
78 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Soucek heads over from the free-kick after a bit of a scramble, trying to steer the ball which bounced up loopily off the turf at the back post in. But he gets under it and sticks it on to the roof of the net.
It’s the lesser-spotted Raheem Sterling. He’s barely been getting a kick for Arsenal of late, so let’s see what Sterling can do in his 15 minutes or so on the pitch.
07:09 PM GMT
76 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Gabriel Jesus gives the ball away, allowing West Ham to counter with Bowen and Paqueta. Kiwior concedes a free-kick for a shirt-tug.
07:07 PM GMT
74 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
The right-side axis is off:
Gabriel Jesus ⇢ Odegaard
Sterling ⇢ Saka
I’ll be honest. It’s been a bit boring since half-time. Annoyingly, Arsenal seem content with only the five goals.
07:05 PM GMT
72 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Odegaards slides a pass up the right for Timber who strides forward into the box and tries to pick out Havertz but the defelection off the scrambling Alvarez takes it away from the Arsenal forward and towards Fabianski.
07:04 PM GMT
70 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Mikel Arteta spoke of how much he admired efficiency in his team’s strategy and this second half has been an example of how efficiently they have managed the game, Jorginho with his tackling and positioning, ditto Rice and Odegaard with his passing.
07:02 PM GMT
68 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Odegaard laces a pass down the inside right and Saka, seemingly inevitably, judges his run to perfection and crosses by the whitewash, earning another corner. Fabianski claws it away at the back post and Ings hooks it clear.
06:59 PM GMT
66 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Wan-Bissaka has switched to left-back and hounds Saka, forcing him backwards.
06:57 PM GMT
64 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Havertz is penalised twice for snapping at ankles as Alvarez and Kilman try to play it out from the back.
Double West Ham substitution:
Coufal ⇢ Emerson
Ings ⇢ Antonio.
06:54 PM GMT
62 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Arsenal corner from the left, sliced behind for another by Lucas Paqueta. Fabianski punches the next one away.
06:53 PM GMT
61 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Saka is down with a shin injury after shooting wide, his leg following through and smacking into Emerson’s. It’s OK, I think. He is smiling.
06:52 PM GMT
59 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Trossard is hurt after Todibo’s sliding challenge catches him. He is limping but carries on for now.
Odegaard drifts across the 18-yard line from right to left, searching for an opening and tries to thread a left-foot shot in at the left post. Fabianski gets down smartly tp save.
06:50 PM GMT
56 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Arsenal clear the corner and try to counter but get tied up.
06:50 PM GMT
54 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Paqueta strides up the inside left, the ball under the control of his left foot, then threads a pass to Antonio who feints to lay it off to Bowen but then spins and shoots into Saliba. Corner.
Arsenal substitution: Calafiori →Zinchenko.
Only just noticed I forgot to mention that Kiwior ⇢ Gabriel happened at half-time.
06:46 PM GMT
52 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Bowen, now playing off Antonio centrally, smacks a 25 yard shot wide.
It looks like some West Ham fans haven’t returned for the second half, judging by the number of empty seats in the home stands. Westfield also has a cinema and a Moana 2 showing started at 6.30pm in screen five. You couldn’t blame them. The first Moana movie was a classic.
06:44 PM GMT
50 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Saka uses his strength to hold off Emerson when fighting for a header but Timber is penalised when trying to offer support.
06:42 PM GMT
49 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Arsenal corner after Saka thumps his cross into Emerson’s legs. Arsenal take their time before Saka spins a corner to the near post and Calafiori heads wide from a very tight angle.
06:41 PM GMT
48 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
A few jitters as the venerable Fabianksi’s speed is tested as he races out of his box to clear, just beating Havertz to it.
06:40 PM GMT
46 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
They’re off again. West Ham have made one change:
Alvarez ⇢ Summerville.
They’ve switched to 4-4-2 with Paqueta as a 10 and Alvarez as the sitter in a diamond midfield.
06:38 PM GMT
Seven Up!
7 - West Ham v Arsenal is only the fourth Premier League game to see seven goals in the first half alone, after Blackburn v Leeds in September 1997, Bradford v Derby in April 2000, and Reading v Man Utd in December 2012. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/Zji8BguDu6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
06:36 PM GMT
Housekeeping notice
Have gone back to add photos to each major incident. You may need to refresh the feed to see them.
06:36 PM GMT
Half-time verdict
Err, what just happened? Seven goals in one half and when Emerson scored his free-kick, Arsenal fans might just have been worrying about a repeat of 2011 when their side squandered a four-goal lead to draw with Newcastle, which killed their title bid. But a Bukayo Saka penalty will have steadied any nerves. Saka now has 18 goals and assists in 18 games this season and you wouldn’t bet against him adding to that tally in the second half. What do we think? 10-4 to the Gunners at full-time? Bring it on.
06:23 PM GMT
Half-time: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
What a preposterous half.
06:22 PM GMT
45+7 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Emerson takes and imparts enough dip to force Raya into clawing it behind for a corner.
06:22 PM GMT
45+5 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 5
Barely time to breathe let alone think. There will be another couple of minutes added for the VAR check and Gabriel’s cogency test.
West Ham free-kick, 28 yards out, centre, for a tug on the shirt.
06:19 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham United 2 Arsenal 5 (Saka, pen) Fabianski went the right way and got a bog hand on it diving to his right but the ball pushes his wrist back and goes in.
403624829
Aaaaand, out go all the West Ham fans again. It’s the football Hokey Cokey!
06:19 PM GMT
Arsenal penalty!
Fabianski goes up with Gabriel and is beaten to the ball. He sparks him with his fist after the header went over. VAR confirms it’s a pen. And Gabriel seems to pass the concussion test.
Yellow card for Fabianski.
Gary Neville thinks the referee didn’t award the pen until he heard the Arsenal protests.
06:17 PM GMT
45 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 4
Summerville is booked for a trip. Arsenal free-kick wide on the right, 40 yards out and Kilman wins the header, thunping it behind for a corner on the right. Arsenal hope for a Saka special.
Five minutes of stoppage time.
06:14 PM GMT
42 min: West Ham 2 Arsenal 4
Will no one think of the blogger with aching wrists? Six goals in 40 minutes and West Ham are now being roared on. The Sky cameras pan to the empty seats vacated at 4-0 down. Maybe they’re haring back from the bars now.
Arteta is incandescent with exasperation.
And back come all the West Ham fans!
06:10 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham United 2 Arsenal 4 (Emerson) Brilliant free-kick reminiscent of Ian Harte, spanking the underside of the crossbar from 22 yards. What on earth is happening here, as Graham Taylor once said.
06:09 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham United 1 Arsenal 4 (Wan-Bissaka) West Ham are jolted into life by a fine Soler pass from left to right that catches Calafiori out and Wan-Bissaka nips in behind him to score his second goal of the week.
06:08 PM GMT
36 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 4
Arsenal were 4-0 up at half-time the last time they were here and scores of West Ham fans streamed out but most seem to be staying.
There’s an exodus in the home stands. Westfield shopping centre is still open and it is December 1 tomorrow… Maybe the West Ham fans are just nipping out for an early pint.
06:05 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham United 0 Arsenal 4 (Havertz) My Lord! What a pass from Trossard from an old left wing-half position and, chipping it with swerve and spin diagonally over Kilman who tries to lunge at it misses it completely and Havertz runs through on his blindside and calmly slots it past Fabianski.
06:04 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham United 0 Arsenal 3 (Odegaard, pen) Saka was standing on the spot with the ball for half a minute then handed it to his captain who swept it into the bottom right corner with his left foot. Fabianski went the right way but it was too good.
06:03 PM GMT
Arsenal penalty!
Earned by Saka, slaloming into the box and Paqueta hangs out a lazy leg, making a hurdle that invites Saka to go down when he runs into it.
06:02 PM GMT
30 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 2
That makes it 10 assists for Saka...
05:57 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham United 0 Arsenal 2 (Trossard) Saka darts down the right, taps it to Odegaard on the 18-yard line and the captain scoops the perfect return pass over a dozing Summerville and Emerson who play him onside. Saka squares a pass across the six-yard box, Havertz slides in and misses but there’s Trossard at the back stick to knock it in. Great goal despite the poor defending.
05:56 PM GMT
26 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Saka’s corner is a second peach and Timber meets this one but without Gabriel’s precision, knocking it straight at Fabianski with plenty of power. The keeper batters it away. West Ham are stuck and the crowd has been stunned into silence by Arsenal’s excellence.
It’s remarkable watching Arsenal take corners. The West Ham players in the middle of the penalty area didn’t know whether to stand their ground or go to the bunch of Arsenal players at the back post when a set-piece was swung in after 25 minutes. Sure enough, all of the Arsenal players moved straight to the front post and Lukasz Fabianski had to make a good save from Jurien Timber.
05:54 PM GMT
25 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Arsenal keep winning the ball back/ West Ham keep giving it a way and Wan-Bissaka is forced to deal with Trossard’s run and cross at the price of a corner on the left that Soucek heads out for another on the left.
Declan Rice is being booed by a few home fans every time he touches the ball for Arsenal. It feels more pantomime than any real anger, but it’s still unnecessary for a player who inspired West Ham’s Europa Conference League success.
05:53 PM GMT
23 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
That link-up again between Odegaard and Saka after Raya pumps a clearance long. The Arsenal captain drives down the inside-right then lays it off to the outside with his left foot. Saka opens his body and wafts a left-foot shot past the far post.
05:51 PM GMT
21 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Trossard tries to pick out Calafiori’s underlapping run into the box but Soucek tracked him all the way and stuck by him as the cross floated out of play for a goal-kick.
05:50 PM GMT
19 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Arsenal are kettling West Ham in their own half and they can’t make their out balls stick to Antonio or Bowen so back Arsenal come in wave after wave.
05:48 PM GMT
17 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Summerville races through on goal down the right and expertly chips the keeper but the flag goes up and the replay shows that he was half a yard offside when Paqueta played him through. He burned away from Calafiori but had jumped the gun.
West Ham’s bubble machine was set off a little early there after Summerville thought he had equalised. Despite the fact there are bubbles floating everywhere near the touchline, it’s still 1-0 to Arsenal and the celebrations had to quickly stop
05:44 PM GMT
14 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
West Ham concede another corner which Rice whips under the crossbar. Fabianski punches this one away firmly. West Ham have done naff all with the ball as ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ reverberates around Stratford.
05:43 PM GMT
13 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Gabriel appropriates the Gyokeres celebration for the second time this week having scored for the second time this week with another clever run.
05:40 PM GMT
GOAL!
West Ham 0 Arsenal 1 (Gabriel) Gabriel went over to talk to Saka, and then to his team-mates, makes the near post run, Paqueta panics and gets caught under the ball and Gabriel flicks it in at the far post.
05:39 PM GMT
10 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 0
Another Arsenal corner, this time on the right after good work from Timber. Saka will take with his left.
05:39 PM GMT
9 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 0
West Ham defend Rice’s corner at the near post and Jorginho sweeps up. Arsenal are dominating possession but can’t pick the lock so far with their probing.
05:37 PM GMT
7 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 0
Odegaard peels away from Paqueta down the inside right but Saka overhits the pass to his captain and West Ham get the ball back. Arsenal earn a corner when Trossard and Rice try to work an opening down the left but Wan-Bissaka stands firm.
05:35 PM GMT
5 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 0
As Gary Neville points out Arsenal are slowing the tempo, trying to draw West Ham on to then before hitting them on the counter but the home side are not playing ball. So Saka takes the initiative and tries to gallop down the right but Summerville and Emerson squeeze him out and earn a free-kick when he barges the latter over.
05:33 PM GMT
3 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 0
Bowen runs down the right, skating in between Rice and Calafiori and should have been given a corner off the Italian left-back but the ref inexplicably awards a goal-kick.
05:31 PM GMT
1 min: West Ham 0 Arsenal 0
West Ham kick off and launch it up the right, too far and out of play. Arsenal throw it back towards goal and shift it into midfield to Rice who is immediately booed.
05:28 PM GMT
Out come the teams
West Ham in claret and blue, natch, Arsenal in black with red and green trim. The bubble machine is in action.
What happened to players doing ‘air’ headers when they come out of the tunnel? Not a single ‘air’ header as the players entered the pitch at the London Stadium. Lopetegui is in the stands serving a touchline suspension. He already appears to be speaking into a microphone and he is still sporting his unshaven look that brought West Ham luck at Newcastle on Monday night.
05:19 PM GMT
And here’s his fellow Basque
"All these things are important" 👊
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui on facing Arsenal 🗣 pic.twitter.com/lZrQAcZwUU— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
05:10 PM GMT
Mikel Arteta speaks to Sky Sports
"Unfortunately, they both picked up injuries."
Mikel Arteta gives fitness updates ahead of Arsenal's game against West Ham 🔊 pic.twitter.com/5Dx7MgBDP4— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2024
05:02 PM GMT
A welcome return
Former Arsenal captain Kieran Tierney returns to the matchday squad after his injury at the Euros with Scotland. Having spent last season on Loan with Real Sociedad, if he gets on it will be his first appearance for the Gunners since the 2023 Community Shield.
04:49 PM GMT
‘Different problems’
In his Sky interview ahead of this game, West Ham manager Julen Loetegui referenced “several different problems with players.” That may have worried Hammers fans who thought Lopetegui was referring to some kind of fall-out, but in actual fact he was alluding to a virus within his squad. Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kaelan Casey are the West Ham players who miss out completely through illness.
04:35 PM GMT
Your teams in black and white
West Ham United Fabianski; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Soler, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Summerville; Antonio.
Substitutes Areola, Coufal, Guilherme, Ings, Alvarez, Rodríguez, Irving, Scarles, Mayers.
Arsenal Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Substitutes Neto, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Nichols, Martinelli, Nwaneri, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus.
Referee Anthony Taylor (Wythensahwe).
04:20 PM GMT
West Ham unchanged
Unchanged Hammers ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/nDTtWQJmYQ
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 30, 2024
04:20 PM GMT
Arsenal team news
Trossard and Jorginho in for Martinelli and Thomas Partey; Gabriel fit.
⚫️ 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 🔴
🇪🇸 Raya between the sticks
🇮🇹 Jorginho in midfield
🇧🇪 Trossard returns out wide
Let's do this - COME ON YOU GUNNERS 👊— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 30, 2024
02:05 PM GMT
Preview: Irons’ mettle?
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the fifth Premier League Saturday fixture in which Arsenal go to the London Stadium to take on West Ham after both clubs were revitalised in the week, the Gunners with a sensational victory orchestrated by Martin Odegaard over Sporting in Lisbon and Yer Actual with a fine win at St James’ Park which demonstrated finally that Julen Lopetegui’s Irons do contain mettle. The former Spain manager was booked for the third time this season during that match and will therefore be sitting in the director’s box rather than prowling the touchline in his submariners’ jumper giving the fourth official earache.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last five visits to Stratford, winning 6-0 there memorably last season after the Hammers punctured their Christmas bubble with a 2-0 victory at the Emirates. That run began with a 3-1 win in 2019 when Freddie Ljungberg was in caretaker charge of Arsenal and Manuel Pellegrini only had a handful of days left as West Ham’s manager. While both of them are long gone, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell featured that day and all but the latter are expected to start.
A win for Arsenal would propel them up to second, closing the gap to Liverpool, who play Man City tomorrow, to six points while a draw would also nudge them ahead of Brighton on goal difference. Jurrien Timber is playing so well at right-back that they have barely missed the injured Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu but it would be a big blow if Gabriel cannot overcome the niggle that took him off the field in Lisbon on Tuesday night. West Ham, who would climb above Manchester United with a win, have Edson Alvarez back but Mohammed Kudus is still suspended for one last match and Jean-Clair Todibo is rated touch and go over an unspecified problem.
