Premier League: Hammers Can Expect No Mercy From Arsenal

Arsenal vs West Ham United

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal continue their Premier League title chase on Saturday in an all-London clash against Graham Potter’s stuttering West Ham United.  

Having finished second to Manchester City over the past two seasons, the Gunners find themselves trailing Liverpool, which must be frustrating. The Sky Blues have had an off season, while Arteta’s team have continued to do well, despite suffering a run of injuries to key players.

But the Merseysiders, under new manager Arne Slot, have done better than expected and lead the table by seven points with 13 games to play. It isn’t an insurmountable task, and if Arsenal manage to close the gap, they will most likely match or better the Reds’ goal difference. So when the 16^th placed Hammers rock up at the Emirates, I expect a ruthless welcome from their hosts.          

Arsenal come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win away to Leicester City, while West Ham lost 1-0 at home to Brentford and, at SBOTOP odds of 1.26, the Gunners are red-hot favourites to win this London derby.

 

Talking Points

Arteta searching for a striking solution

After finishing third in the Champions League table, Arsenal can happily prepare for league action while watching the European play-offs from a safe distance. And that’s a particular help at a time when Arteta’s injury problems show little sign of easing up. His defencive unit is pretty much full strength but, at the other end of the pitch, his resources are stretched, and the manager must be as innovative as he can.

With Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli all sidelined, and Havertz has just successfully undergone hamstring surgery, Arsenal have lost a lot of creativity and some firepower. And Arteta failed to bring a striker to the Emirates in the notoriously difficult January window, so he will have to go with what he’s got.

In terms of creativity, the return of skipper Martin Odegaard goes some way to compensating for the loss of Saka, and when it comes to goal scoring, the head coach may have found a temporary or mid-term solution. Mikel Merino doubled his goals tally to four with his late brace against the Foxes last week. He took both goals well, and Arteta must be tempted to give the former Real Sociedad man a start in place of Leandro Trossard.

 

Potter aiming to stop the rot

On his appointment at West Ham United at the beginning of January, Potter started impressively with a 3-2 win over Fulham, but one point from the following four games has left the Hammers looking over their shoulders.

Okay there’s a 10-point cushion between West Ham in 16^th and Ipswich Town and Leicester City in 18^th and 19^th, but it isn’t an entirely comfortable position. Every now and then, a team in the bottom three makes a miraculous recovery in the run-in. The Foxes did it themselves back in 2015, winning six of their last eight games after winning just four of the first 30.      

The latest Premier League 2025 betting odds rate the Hammers fifth favourites for the drop behind the three promoted teams and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who currently sit in 17^th, but two or three wins will soon ease any nerves.

Like his opposite number, Potter has a clutch of forwards missing with Niclas Fullkrug, Michail Antonio, and Crysencio Summerville all injured, and the Hammers rely heavily on skipper Jarrod Bowen who, with six goals and five assists, makes the biggest contribution.

Potter doesn’t need a spectacular run of Premier League 2025 results. He just wants to pick up some points. 

 

History

Arsenal have dominated this fixture in the Premier League era with 39 victories to 10 and, in the last two meetings, quite spectacularly. Earlier this season, the Gunners ran out 5-2 winners away to the Hammers, and last season, they plundered six unanswered goals at the London Stadium.

With five wins from six, Arsenal are in fine form, and they are unbeaten at the Emirates with eight wins and four draws in the league, while West Ham have won one, drawn one, and lost four of the last six.      

 

Betting Tip

With the draw priced at 4.84 and a West Ham win at 8.10, the Hammers fans will be heading to North London with some trepidation, and I don’t blame them. Even though Arsenal have a full physio room, they still have plenty of quality and are capable of beating their struggling visitors at a canter.   

West Ham are priced at 2.00 with that +1.50 advantage and 2-0 is the most likely scoreline at odds of 5.51.  

   

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