Arsenal vs West Ham preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

Arsenal will be looking to regain top spot in the Premier League table with a win over West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

The Gunners maintained their place at the summit with a hard fought 1-1 draw with Liverpool last time out. Gabriel Magalhaes gave Arsenal an early lead at Anfield with a fine header but Mohamed Salah levelled things up with a superb goal before half-time. Both teams had chances to win it in the second half but the spoils were shared meaning the North Londoners kept hold of their slender one point advantage on Christmas Day.

Liverpool moved two points clear at the top on Boxing Day after easing to a 2-0 win at Burnley at Turf Moor. Therefore, the pressure is on Arsenal to respond with a win over West Ham on Thursday evening. If they win their game in hand tomorrow, the Gunners will leapfrog Liverpool and regain their place at the top of the Premier League table, so this is an opportunity Mikel Arteta won’t want to pass up.

Arsenal head into the game off the back of winning just one of their previous four games in all competitions. An unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa earlier this month was followed by a 1-1 draw away to PSV Eindhoven in their final Champions League group game. The Gunners then got back to winning ways by beating Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium before drawing at Anfield last weekend. Tomorrow night’s game provides Arsenal with a golden opportunity to register a much-needed victory ahead of their trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on New Year’s Eve.

Beating West Ham won’t be straightforward though as the Hammers head to North London having taken some big scalps in recent weeks. David Moyes’ men won away to Tottenham earlier this month, thrashed Wolves at home before beating Manchester United 2-0 at the London Stadium four days ago.

A run of five wins in seven games has moved West Ham up to seventh in the table and to within just four points of fifth-placed Manchester City. Therefore, Arsenal will know better than to take the Irons too lightly as the two London rivals prepare to do-battle at the Emirates tomorrow.

How to watch

Arsenal vs West Ham will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime. Subscribers can watch all the action live on their TV or stream via the Amazon Prime app on mobile or tablet devices.

Match-going supporters will find that tickets have already sold out via official channels but you can still buy tickets through trusted reseller sites such as Seatsnet.com.

Team news

Arsenal will assess the fitness of Thomas Partey ahead of the game. The Ghanaian international has returned to training after recovering from a thigh injury and could be back in the squad tomorrow – although a place on the bench is the best he can hope for.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is also close to making his return from a calf injury that’s hampered him in recent weeks. The Japan international will be assessed by Arsenal’s medical team but the West Ham game could be too soon for him.

Kai Havertz will miss the game on Thursday due to suspension after picking up his fifth booking of the season against Liverpool. Fabio Vieira is also still missing as he continues to recover from groin surgery and the midfielder won’t be back until after the New Year.

Jurrien Timber is another absentee for the Gunners as the defender is still recovering from a serious ACL injury that he sustained on the opening day of the season.

As for West Ham, they should be able to welcome Nayef Aguerd and Maxwell Cornet back into the squad after they missed the win over Man Utd due to illness.

Michail Antonio is still missing for the Hammers as he’s still working his way back from a knee injury. The striker is unlikely to be available at least another two weeks.

Likely line-ups

Arteta may opt to mix things up to keep his team fresh during this busy period. Jorginho or Emile Smith Rowe could come in for Havertz in midfield while Leandro Trossard may get recalled in attack. Gabriel Martinelli may be the man to drop out if Trossard comes in.

Jacub Kiwior could get a run out at left-back with Oleksandr Zinchenko given a rest if Arteta wants more physicality in defence against a tough West Ham side.

David Raya will keep his place between the sticks meaning Aaron Ramsdale remains on the bench. Ben White should keep his place at right-back with William Saliba and Gabriel starting once again after their colossal performances at Anfield.

Martin Odegaard was also excellent against Liverpool and he’ll captain the Gunners tomorrow. Declan Rice continued his superb form since joining Arsenal in the summer as he put in a MOTM display at Anfield. The England midfielder will face-off against his former side at the Emirates.

Bukayo Saka should start once again on the right-wing for Arsenal while Gabriel Jesus could lead the line up front. Eddie Nketiah will be an option for Arteta from the bench.

Likely Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Jesus, Trossard

Likely West Ham XI: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Bowen

Prediction

West Ham are a dangerous side and won’t make life easy for the hosts. Moyes proved with recent wins over Tottenham and Man Utd that he knows how to beat the top teams and he’ll be out to pick up another positive result at the Emirates.

However, Arsenal will be the heavy favourites to win on home soil and should prove to have too much quality for the Irons – who haven’t kept a clean sheet away from home since way back in April.

This is a great chance for Arsenal to regain top spot from Liverpool and they showed at Anfield that they are up for the fight once again this season as they look to make up for last years disappointment.

We should see goals at the Emirates tomorrow and Arsenal will be confident they’ll have too much firepower for West Ham to handle. We’re backing the Gunners to fire themselves back to the top of the table with a 3-1 win on Thursday night. Arsenal 3-1 West Ham