On Monday evening, at 20:00, the 16th round of the Premier League ends with a new London derby, this time between West Ham United and Arsenal London. The “Tunisians” have not yet recovered after Unai Emery’s dismissal, and the “hammers” are hoping to take advantage of the defensive wreck that rivals Emirates.
Even if he goes through a clear lack of inspiration, Arsenal remain a favorite in front of West Ham, especially as Freddie Ljungberg has the complete lot at his disposal, except for Dani Ceballos. From West Ham we will not see on the field the injured Fabianski, Lanzini, Antonio and Reid. The match at the Olympic Stadium in London is said to be very spectacular, because both sides have very capable offensive players in the lot.
Arsenal is 10th in the Premier League (goal 21-23), with 19 points, far from the club’s European ambitions. In contrast, West Ham is ranked 15th (goalscoring 17-25), with 16 points, closer to the relegation zone than its rival. In the final stages, West Ham lost four times in five matches, with Newcastle (2-3), Burnley (0-3), Tottenham (2-3) and Wolverhampton (0-2). The only victory was obtained on the field of Chelsea, with 1-0.
Arsenal come after 0-2 with Leicester, 1-2 with Brighton and draws with Norwich (2-2) and Southampton (2-2), who once again highlighted how bad the London players are. Slow and often discovered, it is hard to believe that the “thieves” will escape empty-handed with West Ham. In the previous two visits to the Emirates, West Ham gave up 1-3 and 1-4, but the “hammers” took their revenge on their own ground, where they won the last match by 1-0. Much more energetic and courageous after the break, West Ham will try to raise the tempo in the second half.
