Match Preview

After a comfortable victory on Monday night against Portsmouth in the FA Cup, Arteta and his squad will look to build on that result at the Emirates on Saturday.

The Gunners results have picked up significantly since the start of the year with the only blip being against Olympiacos, however the fact they have managed to bounce back since then is a positive sign. It’s a must win game versus the Hammers as our search for European Football intensifies. Arteta’s side have won 3 out of their last 5 games including 1 draw and 1 loss, whereas West Ham have only won 1 in their last 5 along with 1 draw and 3 losses. On from the home side should easily come out on top in this London Derby, however it will not be an easy game. West Ham will look to counter as Arsenal dominate the ball and try to carve open opportunities for their front men. With the visitors fighting for survival, I see this being a close match, let’s see the injury news for both teams:

Full-backs Kieran Tierney and Cedric Soares returned to full training on Friday morning as they stepped up their recovery from shoulder and knee injuries. The weekend will be too soon for them both, however Man City on Wednesday is a possible return date. Midfielder Lucas Torreira has been ruled out for a significant amount of time after Arteta confirmed he had fractured his ankle against Portsmouth on Monday. The Gunners only other injuries are to Sead Kolasinac and Callum Chambers. David Moyes said in a recent press conference that his squad is pretty much fully fit apart from Tomas Soucek who could yet play a part in North London at the weekend.

Predicted Lineup

Formation – 4-2-3-1

GK – Bernd Leno

RB – Hector Bellerin

CB – David Luiz

CB – Shkodran Mustafi

LB – Bukayo Saka

CM – Dani Cellabos

CM – Granit Xhaka

RM – Nicolas Pepe

CAM – Mesut Ozil

LM – Aubameyang

ST – Nketiah

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James Humphreys