Predictions have been made for Arsenal’s showdown with West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners are looking to close the gap with league leaders Liverpool to just five points, and increase the pressure on the Merseysiders ahead of their clash with Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
Arne Slot is feeling the pressure after his team dropped points away at Aston Villa in midweek, and all of a sudden the title race is back on.
However, if Mikel Arteta’s team don’t overcome West Ham, then the odds will be massively stacked against them once again.
Arsenal ran out 5-2 winners in the reverse fixtures against the Hammers at the London Stadium in November, and they’ll be hoping for a similarly emphatic victory this time around.
Paul Merson predicts Arsenal v West Ham
Arsenal will be without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli once again for this match, and will have to make do and mend with what they have in attacking areas.
The Gunners will likely call upon Mikel Merino up front, after he saved the day with two late goals against Leicester at the King Power Stadium last weekend.
Despite these issues, former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has backed his old team to beat West Ham.
Writing for Sportskeeda, the pundit said: “Arsenal have an advantage this week since they are playing before Liverpool. If they beat West Ham, they close that gap at the top to just give points.
“And if Liverpool lose to City on Sunday, the title race is wide open! This will still be a hard game for Arsenal though.
“West Ham will come out and frustrate Arsenal in this game, plus the Hammers have the firepower in the form of players who can pick you off. They are also a better team in games they are forced to rely on counter-attack.
“Arsenal have a tricky run of fixtures after this game. This is a must-win clash and they must look at one game at a time rather than getting too ahead of themselves.
“The title is still well out of their hands though.”
Score prediction: Arsenal 1-0 West Ham
Chris Sutton makes Arsenal v West Ham prediction
Like Merson, Chris Sutton believes Arsenal will get past the Hammers, although by a more convincing margin.
Writing on BBC Sport, he said: “With Liverpool dropping points against Aston Villa on Wednesday, Arsenal have them in their sights and it will be really interesting to see how Gunners boss Mikel Arteta approaches this game.
“If they beat West Ham, Liverpool’s lead at the top is down to five points and the Hammers don’t seem to be in the kind of form to stop them.
“West Ham have not got going at all under new boss Graham Potter. Like Manchester United, they are not getting relegated, but their fans have not had much to smile about all season.
“Arsenal won 5-2 at London Stadium in November, with all the goals coming in the first half. There won’t be quite as many this time, but I still think Arsenal’s intensity will see them end up convincing winners.”
Score prediction: Arsenal 3-0 West Ham
Arsenal should certainly have too much for a West Ham side that have one win in their last seven Premier League games.
However, the experiment of Merino as a number nine will be seriously tested in this game, and it could see the Gunners come unstuck if it doesn’t work as well as the Leicester match suggests it could.