Our final game at Emirates Stadium in 2023 comes when West Ham United cross the capital on Wednesday, and the east Londoners have been one of our favourite opponents in recent times.
We have won 12 of our last 13 Premier League home games against them, including last season’s festive fixture on Boxing Day 2022, and that coupled with our impressive home form this campaign means we head into this clash filled with confidence.
The Hammers have won now just two of their last 30 against us, however they come into this encounter in great form with five wins from their last seven matches, quietly going about their business to sneak into contention for another crack at European football next season.
Happy Hammers away from home
After lifting the Europa Conference League in June, the Hammers rode that high into the new campaign by taking 10 points from their first 12, including three away games. That form has continued, with David Moyes’ side winning four of their nine league road games, more than the whole of last season.
However, they are without a clean sheet in their last 13 away league trips, shipping 31 goals in the process, and that leakiness has seen them beaten 4-1 by Aston Villa in October and 5-0 at Fulham earlier this month. But they enter this game on the back of a clean sheet and an impressive 2-0 win against Manchester United, where their front three of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta sparkled.
Having knocked us out of the League Cup, they exited at the quarter-final stage at the hands of Liverpool, while they topped a Europa League group including Freiberg, Olympiakos and TSC by recording five wins from six games.
What the managers say
Arteta: "It will be very difficult. They are a really good side, really well coached. It’s incredible the success that they had last year. They are again this season showing a lot of consistency. They beat Spurs and Manchester United and that tells you everything about the difficulty of the game tomorrow and we’re going to have to be really good."
Read every word from Mikel's pre-match press conference.
Moyes: "Arsenal will be a huge challenge. They have always been a really hard team to beat. We had a good result at home against them in the cup - but this is a different competition.
"I've been so impressed with Mikel Arteta since he went into Arsenal. He won the FA Cup and the Community Shield, and there were some down comments but he hasn't half proved them wrong."
Team news
After picking up his fifth booking of the season against Liverpool, Kai Havertz will sit this game out through suspension.
He joins Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber on the sidelines.
Moyes will make a call on whether Nayef Aguerd will be OK to feature after he missed the Manchester United game through illness,
Their only other worry concerns Michail Antonio, but he is unlikely to feature having been out since mid-November with a knee problem.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: Moyes uses a 4-2-3-1 as his primary shape, but without the ball West Ham United’s formation tends to resemble a solid 4-5-1. Averaging just a 41 per cent share of the ball they are still very much built to defend with organisation, before springing fast, incisive counter-attacks.
The Hammers are naturally cautious, but they can flick the switch and take a more offensive approach when required. Creating transitions by stealing the ball back inside the middle or defensive thirds through aggression is their stock tactic, and they love to use the pace of Bowen or Kudus to hurt opponents when quickly turning defence into attack.
No Premier League side has scored more goals from fast breaks (6) than West Ham, and netting multiple times in five of eight away from home, they are dangerous opponents. From an expected goals tally of 16.35 in open play, Moyes’ side have scored 22 goals outside of penalties and set pieces.
On the flip side, conceding 30 goals already (22 from open play), the east Londoners have managed just a pair of clean sheets, which is unusual for a team managed by Moyes. Only Sheffield United and Luton Town have faced more shots than West Ham, who have the fourth-highest expected goals-against tally.
Facts and stats
Against no side have West Ham lost more Premier League games than they have against us (35, same as against Liverpool), while we only have more wins in the competition against Everton (37).
We are unbeaten in our last 12 home London derbies in the Premier League. We’ve kept just one clean sheet in this run (2-0 v West Ham in December 2021), with both such matches this season finishing 2-2.
West Ham have won their final league game in just one of the last seven calendar years (D2 L4), winning 4-1 at Watford in 2021. They’ve lost on the last four occasions they’ve finished the year with a London derby, since beating Charlton Athletic 5-0 in 2000.
We are unbeaten in their last 13 home games in all competitions (W11 D2) since a 3-0 loss to Brighton in May. We have won their last seven at the Emirates Stadium by an aggregate score of 21-2.
Moyes has never won in 22 attempts away against us in all competitions (D4 L18). He’s only faced Chelsea on the road more without ever winning in his managerial career (23).
Bukayo Saka has been involved in 18 goals in his last 17 home games in all competitions, scoring 11 and assisting seven. He’s also had a hand in three goals in his last four league games against West Ham (1 goal, 2 assist).
Bowen has scored seven away goals for West Ham in the Premier League this season, with Mike Small in 1991/92 (9) the last player to score more on the road in a top-flight campaign for the Hammers.
Find out more about our incredible recent run in London derbies
Match officials
For the fourth time this season, Michael Oliver will preside over one of our matches, and we have a 100 per cent record so far having beaten Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Burnley - all at Emirates Stadium.
We have won eight of the last nine games he has overseen, but for West Ham it’s a different story as they haven’t won any of the last seven appointments stretching back to April 2022. One of those was last season’s corresponding game in north London when we were 3-1 victors, despite handing the Hammers a penalty to take the lead.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook
Fourth official: Rob Jones
VAR: Craig Pawson
Assistant VAR: Ian Hussin
Recent visits from the Hammers
That Boxing Day success 12 months ago meant we have won each of our last eight home meetings with West Ham, stretching back to 2016/17. Last year, Said Benrahma put us behind from 12 yards, but strikes from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah saw us recover to claim the three points.
The season before saw us claim a 2-0 victory, with Emile Smith Rowe and Martinelli grabbing goals either side of Vladimir Coufal’s sending-off and Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty miss.
Back in September 2020, Nketiah once again popped up with the crucial goal five minutes from time to extend our winning run over Moyes’ side.
Take a look back at five classic encounters against the Hammers, including hat-tricks from two French strikers
Live coverage
Nick Bright and Adrian Clarke are in the My Arsenal Rewards box for Thursday's Breakdown Live, and Arsenal Gloucester will drop by for a chat pitchside ahead of kick-off. Our Invincible Gilberto Silva is also in the studio and we’ll look back on our point at Anfield before Christmas.
There will also be all the headlines from the boss’ pre-match press conference, as well as a look at Declan Rice’s best bits in an Arsenal shirt ahead of his West Ham reunion, before handing over to live commentary from Dan Roebuck and Nigel Winterburn.
Find out how you can watch the action live wherever you are in the world
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