Arsenal will take on West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday evening in a much-anticipated London derby clash in the Premier League.
The Gunners failed to build on the 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion as they drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday. However, Mikel Arteta should be pleased with his boys as they came through an intense test against Liverpool to maintain their status as Premier League leaders.
The north Londoners will want to stay at the top by beating West Ham, who head to the Emirates Stadium off the back of a fine 2-0 win over Manchester United.
Arsenal Team News
Kai Havertz will miss the visit of West Ham after picking up his fifth booking of the season in the draw against Liverpool. Thomas Partey is closing in on a return to action but is not expected to feature in the squad until January along with Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is out with a knee problem.
Mikel Arteta will have the likes of Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny available for selection once again after both the midfielders were included in the matchday squad against Liverpool.
Goalkeeper
David Raya is now Arsenal’s No.1 and should start against the Hammers. He will be hoping to keep back-to-back clean sheets at home in the Premier League in midweek.
Defence
In front of Raya, the backline will likely feature Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Arsenal lineup. Saliba and Gabriel should continue their formidable centre-back pairing, hoping to keep the in-form West Ham forwards at bay.
White and Zinchenko will continue operating from the right-back and left-back positions respectively, with the latter inverting into midfield to help the hosts dominate possession and control the game.
Midfield
As for the midfield unit, Kai Havertz’s suspension should open the door for Jorginho to start in the Arsenal lineup. Operating as the single pivot, the Italian will look to keep things tight in the middle of the park while providing the forward thrust to link up with the attack.
Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are certain to join Jorginho in the engine room in the Arsenal lineup, bringing control, calmness and flair to help the Gunners unlock the West Ham defence.
Attack
Gabriel Martinelli hasn’t been at his best for some time now, so Arteta could drop him in favour of Leandro Trossard on the left flank in the Arsenal lineup. Bukayo Saka is certain to start on the right wing, with the England international raring to make a difference against West Ham.
Gabriel Jesus should get the nod ahead of Eddie Nketiah again to spearhead the Arsenal attack on Thursday evening.
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