Two of the three London clubs that are yet to pick up a point this season will go head to head this weekend as Arsenal, who lost to Manchester City and Chelsea in their two games, welcome West Ham United, who are also without a point after losing games to Liverpool and Bournemouth.
Both teams have shown signs of adjusting to the new system under new managers and this is a great chance for them to finally get off the mark.
The Gunners were impressive in short bursts against Chelsea last weekend, as Unai Emery’s style of play is slowly starting to show. The new signings have played their roles but the manager will want his side to completely buy into his system and this will be a decent chance for him to test the same.
The Hammers were a defensive minded unit last season under David Moyes but Manuel Pellegrini wants his men to control the game with a more balanced approach and this transition has not been easy for the side. They also have a few summer signings who are yet to make a real impact on the first team but they do have the quality needed to test Arsenal at home this weekend.
Both teams have shown their frailties in the first two games but have shown enough promise to believe that they could be formidable opponents to even the toughest of the teams in the league.
The West Ham manager used two different systems in the first two games and could make a few changes this weekend as well but Emery is happy to give his side some time and could stick with a similar lineup for this game, like against Chelsea.
Team News
Arsenal
Carl Jenkinson, Sead Kolasinac, Laurent Koscielny and Ainsley Maitland-Niles remain on the long-term injury list for Arsenal and are the only players absent for this game against West Ham.
Expected Arsenal lineup (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Papastathopoulos, Monreal; Xhaka, Guendouzi; Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi; Aubameyang
West Ham United
The Hammers are still without the services of Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll, and Winston Reid, all of who are nursing long-term injuries. They have an otherwise fully-fit squad to choose from for this weekend:
Expected West Ham lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Obiang, Noble; Snodgrass, Wilshere, Anderson; Arnautovic
Odds
Arsenal – 4/11
Draw – 9/2
West Ham United – 8/1
Our Prediction
Wilshere’s return to the Emirates might push him into inspiring his side while Arnautovic and Anderson could prove to be a handful for the Gunners.
Aubameyang needs to improve on his finishing while Xhaka and Ozil quickly need to step up their game. There are too many variables to pick up a favourite and we believe that both teams could well share a point each this weekend.
Arsenal 2-2 West Ham United
