Arsenal will look to preserve their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table when they entertain West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day.
The Gunners are sitting pretty at the top of the standings and will want to get off to a strong start as the Premier League campaign recommences after the World Cup. They saw off Wolves 2-0 at Molineux in the final game before the World Cup break.
Mikel Arteta’s side are favourites on paper but cannot afford to take West Ham lightly, despite the Hammers’ poor start to the season.
Arsenal Team News
Gabriel Jesus is expected to be out for up to three months after undergoing surgery on a knee injury suffered on World Cup duty with Brazil. Reiss Nelson picked up an injury in the mid-season friendly against Juventus, while Emile Smith Rowe is still not back to 100% fitness after going under the knife to fix a groin problem, confirmed Mikel Arteta in his pre-match presser.
William Saliba returned to to Arsenal from Qatar on Friday having reached the World Cup final with France, only to lose to Argentina on penalty shootout.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup vs West Ham (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Aaron Ramsdale will hope to reproduce the form he showed in the first half of the campaign. He is a certainty to start in between the sticks for the Gunners.
Defence
With William Saliba expected to be fit enough for action despite limited match time with his national side, the French defender should start in the Arsenal lineup against West Ham. If that is the case, Saliba will partner Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of the Gunners’ backline.
Ben White, who returned back early to England from the World Cup for personal reasons, is expected to start at right-back in the Arsenal lineup, while Kieran Tierney could get the nod ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko for the left-back position.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey were excellent in the middle of the park during the first half of the season and there is no point breaking that partnership. Xhaka and Partey will form the double pivot as usual, with Martin Odegaard acting as the creative glue between the midfield and attack.
Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny could get involved at some point in the second half against West Ham if required.
Attack
With Gabriel Jesus out injured, Eddie Nketiah is the likely candidate to deputise for him up top in the Arsenal lineup. As Arsenal’s only recognised striker now, Nketiah will hope to take the opportunities that come his way with both hands.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are extremely talented young attackers who can give the West Ham defenders a run for their money with their pace, movement and imagination on the ball. The duo will take up the wide positions.
