West Ham vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
The Gunners resume their quest for the Premier League title looking for a win after drawing at Liverpool last weekend
Arsenal still have the title in their own hands, just about, but they’ve reached a worrying point where they can’t seem to hold onto anything - not their nerve, not a 2-0 lead.
That’s what the true pressure of a Premier League race does, as the leaders just stopped playing. It means they’ve stopped winning, as Arsenal squandered a two-goal lead for another 2-2 for the second successive week. This time, it was away to a West Ham United who had previously been on poor form, rather than Liverpool who had previously been on poor form.
Whatever about the points and how it leaves Arsenal just four ahead of City with a game more played, the great question is whether you can afford to do this in this manner against Pep Guardiola’s side.
We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below:
West Ham United vs Arsenal
ARSENAL SUBS: Matt Turner, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Reuell Walters.
West Ham United vs Arsenal
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kieran Tierney; Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli.
West Ham United vs Arsenal
WEST HAM SUBS: Alphonse Areola, Joseph Anang, Ben Johnson, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, Flynn Downes, Maxwel Cornet, Danny Ings, Emerson.
West Ham United vs Arsenal
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Fabianski; Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Cresswell; Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Said Benrahma; Michail Antonio.
West Ham United vs Arsenal
West Ham, meanwhile, remain desperate for points in their bid to pull away from danger. David Moyes' team claimed a vital 1-0 win at Fulham last week and begin this game three points clear of the bottom three. However, with a tough run-in awaiting them and rivals Nottingham Forest and Leeds United yet to play this weekend, the Hammers are still glancing nervously over their shoulders.
Declan Rice may be a piece of Arsenal’s future but is a problem in the present
As Mikel Arteta prepares a plan to get around Declan Rice this weekend, he is also preparing a plan to include him next season. The Arsenal manager has already started thinking about the evolution of his team, and the club are currently seen as the likeliest to secure Rice’s signature if he does move.
There have already been back-channel overtures and personal terms are seen as easy to sort. West Ham United are not even getting into a discussion about a sale right now, though, and that’s where the real difficulties will be.
The relegation-threatened club would want at least £100m for Rice, and the possibility of him staying obviously hasn’t been discounted. That position will only be strengthened if West Ham stay up, which makes Arsenal’s visit on Sunday so important to the future for a lot of figures. A home victory would put David Moyes’ side on the brink of survival, such is the congestion in that half of the table. Any win, especially after last week’s victory, now has a disproportionate effect. The flip side is that another defeat might put them right back in it.
Miguel Delaney on an Arsenal transfer target they face today:
Rice may be a piece of Arsenal’s future but is a problem in the present
The West Ham man is aiming to keep his team up this season but in doing so might scupper his chances of a summer transfer
West Ham United vs Arsenal
This London derby could have huge ramifications at both ends of the table, with Arsenal under pressure at the summit after seeing Manchester City cut their lead to just three points on Saturday. Mikel Arteta's league leaders squandered a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw at Liverpool last time out, and another slip-up here would seemingly put City in the ascendency in the title race.
West Ham United vs Arsenal
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of this Premier League clash between West Ham and Arsenal at the London Stadium!
Confirmed lineups - West Ham vs Arsenal
Here are the teams for today’s game:
West Ham XI - Fabianski, Coufal, Kehrer, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Paqueta, Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma
Arsenal XI - Ramsdale, White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments