Arsenal vs West Ham United – Match preview and team news

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·22 febbraio 2025

Arsenal vs West Ham United – Match preview and team news

Arsenal host West Ham United this afternoon in a London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners have the opportunity to reduce the gap between them and league leaders Liverpool to five points.

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Mikel Arteta continues to be without the services of attackers Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. After Mikel Merino came off the bench to score two against Leicester last weekend, the manager may opt to deploy the Spaniard as a false nine.

Ben White has been cleared to make his first start of the calendar year. The former Brighton defender hasn’t made an appearance since November after undergoing knee surgery.

West Ham will be looking to put their four-game winless run to an end in the capital this afternoon. The East London outfit will be without Lucas Paqueta this afternoon. The Brazilian rolled his ankle after an accidental collision in training. Vladimir Coufal is also unavailable while Brighton loanee Evan Ferguson is poised to make his first start for the Hammers.

Arsenal vs West Ham – Match preview and team news

Form

Arsenal: WWWLW

It has been 15 matches since Arsenal were last defeated in the Premier League – a 1-0 loss to Newcastle in November. That rampant run has seen them emerge as the only serious challengers to Liverpool for the league title. After the Merseysiders drew in midweek, a win for the Gunners would put some pressure on Arne Slot’s team.

Arsenal are the only team in the top-flight to remain unbeaten at home, an encouraging statistic ahead of today’s match.

Arteta’s side are out of both domestic cup competitions, but the Champions League knockout stages awaits them. Yesterday, they discovered they will face PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 of Europe’s elite competition.

Read – Arsenal predicted lineup vs West Ham United

West Ham: WLDLL

It has been an incredibly underwhelming campaign for West Ham United. The pre-season promise has faded into oblivion and the Hammers are wallowing in 16th position.

Graham Potter’s appointment hasn’t had the desired effect thus far with only one win in his six games in charge. The former Chelsea boss saw his team knocked out of the FA Cup in his first game in the hot seat, although it was followed by a 3-2 win over Fulham.

Since they overcame the Cottagers, West Ham have lost three further London derbies at home to Brentford and Crystal Palace and away to Chelsea. They have very little to compete for this season, with the primary objective now being survival.

Read – West Ham United predicted lineup vs Arsenal

Last Meeting

West Ham 2-5 Arsenal, Premier League, 30th November 2024

It was a memorable first-half at the London Stadium as roughly 60,000 spectators watched seven goals fly in. Arsenal raced into a 4-0 lead in devastating fashion to virtually claim the three points inside 36 minutes.

Gabriel expertly headed in the opening goal after connecting with an in-swinging corner from Bukayo Saka.

An exquisite team move saw the visitors notch their second. Martin Odegaard split the opposition defence open with a chipped pass to Saka. Instead of going for glory himself, the Englishman slid the ball into Leandro Trossard who couldn’t miss from four yards out.

Saka continued to give West Ham nightmares, leading a frustrated Lucas Paqueta to trip him inside the box to give Arsenal a penalty. Odegaard stepped up to take the spot-kick and after a slight stutter in his approach the Norwegian found the bottom corner.

The hosts desperately tried to get a foothold in the contest, but it left them disorganised in defence. A simple long ball from Trossard found Kai Havertz after Max Kilman had crucially slipped. The German playmaker composed himself before firing past Lukasz Fabianski and sparking a chorus of boos from the home faithful.

However, West Ham did show a bit of fight and desire with two quickfire goals within minutes of the fourth. The first came through a clever finish from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The second was a spectacular free-kick from Emerson. The Italian full-back’s strike from 25 yards flew in off the underside of the crossbar to give Julen Lopetegui’s side an interest.

But that feeling of hope around the London Stadium was quickly quashed as Arsenal were awarded another penalty in first-half stoppage-time. Gabriel beat Fabianski to the ball from a corner and the Pole accidentally punched the head of the Brazilian. The responsibility of this kick was bestowed upon Saka who made no mistake with his effort.

After a breathless first half of football, the second period was played at a pedestrian pace. Arsenal took the sting out of the contest and made the short trip back to North London with their just reward.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off at the Emirates Stadium will be at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, 22 February, 2025.

Who is the referee?

Craig Pawson will be the match official. Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan will assist him while Andrew Kitchen will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Peter Bankes and he will be assisted by Nick Hopton.