AUBA'S 50
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goes into the game on 49 league goals, one away from becoming the ninth Arsenal player to reach a half century during the Premier League era.
It will be his 75th appearance in the competition, since making his debut against Everton at Emirates Stadium on February 3, 2018. He marked his debut with a goal, going on to score 10 in 13 appearances during his first season in England.
Last term he added 22 more in 36 games to win the Golden Boot, and has scored 17 so far this term from 25 appearances, to once again lead the scoring charts.
Overall he'll become the 38th player in the club's history to score 50 league goals, and if he gets there this weekend, he will be the joint-sixth fastest to the landmark, and the fastest since Joe Baker managed it in 62 games in 1963.
Of his 49 goals so far, 38 have come from his right foot, eight from his left and three have been headers. Four have been scored outside the area, and the tally includes six penalties.
West Ham are one of 20 Premier League teams he has already scored against.
He's registered 28 league goals at the Emirates, and 21 away from home, but just six of his 49 to date were scored on Saturdays.
Auba has also netted 12 goals in other competitions to take his overall tally at Arsenal so far to 61 goals in 95 appearances.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
DOING THE DOUBLE
We beat West Ham 3-1 at the London Stadium under Freddie Ljungberg's temporary stewardship back in December, and if we take all three points on Saturday too, it will be only the second time this season we have beaten a team home and away in the Premier League.
We completed the double over Newcastle with our 4-1 home win last month, and should we win on Saturday, it will be the first time we have taken six points off West Ham since 2016/17.
Our overall record against the Hammers is very good though – we've won nine of our last ten home games against them, and lost just two of our last 23 league meetings, home or away.
There's generally been plenty of goals in this fixture recently too. We've scored at least three times in 12 of our last 16 Premier League games against West Ham, including each of the last three at Emirates Stadium.
ON A RUN
Following Liverpool's long-awaited defeat to Watford last weekend, we now pick up the mantle as the team with the longest current unbeaten streak in the league, having avoided not lost in the past seven games, since a 2-1 home reverse in another London derby, against Chelsea on December 29.
We've won three and drawn the other four of those games, but have won each of the past two - also at the Emirates - and we are looking to make it three consecutive Premier League successes for the first time since August 2019 (a run that included two wins over Burnley).
Seven games unbeaten is our longest such streak in the Premier League since a run of 14 near the start of last season.
West Ham manager David Moyes has his own streak going into the game - but one he will want to end. The Scot hasn’t won any of his 15 away Premier League games against Arsenal, drawing four and losing 11 across Emirates Stadium and Highbury.
REVIVED HAMMERS
West Ham ended a seven-game winless run last weekend with a 3-1 home win over Southampton to lift them to 16th place, out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Michael Cox of zonalmarking.net expects David Moyes to employ much of what worked against the Saints against the Gunners: "The approach against Southampton was 4-2-3-1, which will look like a 4-4-1-1 for long periods here," he explains. "Sebastian Haller will lead the line, he’s a good all-round forward capable of running in behind, holding up the ball and getting on the end of crosses. His form has been inconsistent this season, and his tally of seven league goals is probably slightly disappointing. But on his day Haller can work both centre backs and create opportunities for onrushing midfielders.
"And Moyes has plenty of those players to choose from. Last weekend, dead ball specialist Robert Snodgrass, creative Brazilian Felipe Anderson and silky Argentine Manuel Lanzini all only made the bench.
"Instead, Moyes went for a more hard-working trio. The central role was played by Pablo Fornals, another who hasn’t quite settled at West Ham, but is capable of dropping deep to pull the strings and then speed forward to play the killer pass. He assisted two goals last weekend, for wingers Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen."
That was Bowen's first Premier League strike, after signing from Hull City on transfer deadline day, where he had netted 17 times in the first half of the campaign.
SATURDAY FORM
We haven't won a Saturday fixture since the first month of the season (2-1 against Burnley) but on the flip side, we are unbeaten in our last 25 home games that have kicked off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, winning 20 of them.
However, we have drawn all three such fixtures this season (against Wolves, Southampton and Sheffield United) and it's now seven Saturday fixtures without a win home and away.
The last time we lost at home at 3pm on a Saturday was the opening day of the 2013/14 season (against Aston Villa) while the last time away from home was in November 2015 (away to West Brom in the Premier League).
Alex Lacazette celebrates scoring against Burnley
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