West Ham vs Arsenal: Declan Rice returns to old stomping ground as Hammers host Gunners in crucial Premier League clash
DECLAN RICE will be hoping it is third time lucky when Arsenal take on West Ham on Sunday.
The Gunners travel to the London Stadium in the Premier League this weekend.
Mikel Arteta and co have not enjoyed themselves when facing the Hammers this season.
David Moyes‘ side have won the bragging rights twice already having knocked Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup and won in the reverse league fixture.
In the cup clash, Ben White put the ball into his own net, and then Mohamed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen secured the result before Martin Odegaard fired in a late consolation.
In the Prem fixture, Tomas Soucek slammed home the opener before former Gunners defender Konstantinos Mavropanos headed in the second.
This is despite the North London outfit poaching club captain Declan RIce last summer in a £105million deal.
To make matters worse for the midfielder the loss at the Emirates in December meant that he had lost every game at the ground in which West Ham have played against Arsenal, regardless of what team he has been on.
West Ham have appeared to have spent the Rice money well having brought in the likes of Kudus, James Ward-Prowse and Kalvin Phillips (loan).
However, Rice has settled well in North London, having become a vital member of Arteta’s team.
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The Gunners go into the match against West Ham looking to jump up to 1st in the Premier League table.
They are only two points off top-placed Liverpool; however, they will need results to go their way if they are to stay there.
West Ham, however, have been a recent slump which has seen them drop out of the top six.
Moyes will be hoping his team can repeat their performances from earlier in the season to stop the run of four league games without a win
What is their form like?
Arsenal have recovered from their recent slump having picked up three wins on the bounce.
Last time out, the Gunners swept aside Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool 3-1 at the Emirates.
Before that, they won against relegation candidates Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
West Ham, however, are without a win in six games having drawn three Premier League games and lost in the Fa Cup to Bristol City via a replay.
Last weekend, they were beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford 3-0 after a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a strike from Rasmus Hojlund.
In fact, the last time the Hammers finished on the winning side was against Arsenal back in December.
Team news?
Arsenal have a few injury concerns on their books ahead of the match.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko are both being monitored for issues.
While there is positivity over Bukayo Saka after he was forced against Liverpool.
Takehiro Tomiyasu could also make his return to the team after coming back from the Asian Cup.
West Ham could be without Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta as they continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Alphonse Areola could also miss out after he suffered a knock to the head against Manchester United.
Who will be the star men?
Gabriel Martinelli has been in great form recently for Arsenal.
The Brazilian has scored three goals in his last three appearances in the Premier League.
He will be looking to continue his purple patch against the Hammers, who he has already scored two goals against in eight meetings.
For the West Ham, hopes will be put at the feet of Jarrod Bowen.
Mohamed Kudus is still getting back in to the swing of things after his time at Afcon.
Bowen, however, is the club’s top scorer in the league this season, with 11 in just 22 appearances.
The Englishman bagged against the Gunners in the Carabao Cup earlier this season so will have some confidence.
What have the managers said?
Arteta is keen on Arsenal to keep their momentum up in order to challenge for the title.
He said: “Winning helps and obviously the schedule we had prior to Christmas.
“The amount of players that played so many minutes, we had injuries, and we needed to recharge and now we’ve got some momentum back, three wins in a row in a really convincing way.
“The team performing really well we have to go for it.
“It’s the whole season now ahead of us, we need some players back because right now we have a few injuries – and that’s a big concern that I have, availability of the squad, if we have everybody fit and training we have a really good chance.”
David Moyes wants his team to get back to the form that they showed during the Chirstmas period.
He said: “We have to try and get back into the form we were in prior to the start of the new year.
“We played really well in December and won some really big games, and now we have to do it again.
“The Premier League will always have ups and downs.
“Hopefully, with our performance [against Man United], we’ll get a bit closer to our usual form.”
SunSport prediction?
West Ham 1 Arsenal 3
When is West Ham vs Arsenal?
- West Ham’s big clash with Arsenal takes place on Sunday, February 11.
- The game will kick off at 2pm UK time.
- London Stadium will play host to West Ham vs Arsenal.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- West Ham vs Arsenal will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event.
- You can live stream the action from the NOW TV or Sky Go app, both of which are available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
Odds
- West Ham – 19/4
- Draw – 16/5
- Arsenal – 8/15
*Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes and correct at time of publication.
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