At a Glance:
- Arsenal visit West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
- The Gunners have the opportunity to move one step closer to winning the Premier League title.
- Here’s how Mikel Arteta might set his team up against the Hammers.
Arsenal can put themselves on the brink of winning their first Premier League title for 22 years when they visit West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners know they just need to win all three of their remaining matches to be crowned champions, and while relegation-threatened West Ham will present Mikel Arteta’s team with a tough test, Burnley and Crystal Palace should be routine victories for the North Londoners. Burnley have already been releagated, while Palace will rotate heavily given they play in the Conference League final just three days after their clash with the Gunners.
Attention for Arteta and his players will firmly be on this West Ham encounter, though, before they even think about the remaining two fixtures. The Hammers are fighting for their lives at the foot of the table, as they currently sit a solitary point behind Tottenham in 17th.
Thus, this will be an extremely tough test for Arsenal, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side likely to sit deep and look to frustrate the North Londoners. However, if they do manage to overcome the East London outfit, they’ll be well and truly in the driving seat heading into the final two weeks of the season.
On top of this, Manchester City host Brentford just over 24 hours before this game at the London Stadium, meaning Arsenal will know just how much they’ll need to push for all three points by the time their game kicks off.
| Date | Result | Competition |
| 04/10/2025 | Arsenal 2-0 West Ham | Premier League |
| 22/02/2025 | Arsenal 0-1 West Ham | Premier League |
| 30/11/2024 | West Ham 2-5 Arsenal | Premier League |
| 11/02/2024 | West Ham 0-6 Arsenal | Premier League |
| 28/12/2023 | Arsenal 0-2 West Ham | Premier League |
| 01/11/2023 | West Ham 3-1 Arsenal | Carabao Cup |
Arsenal team news vs West Ham, Jurrien Timber injury update
For the first time in a while, Arteta’s squad is almost entirely fit. The likes of Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz returned to the fold against Atletico Madrid in midweek, and both are expected to be available for selection on Sunday.
The only two members of Arteta’s ensemble still out with injury are Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino. According to HandofArsenal, the latter has started training on grass again, although he remains at least a few weeks away from returning to the pitch.
🚨 I can confirm Merino has been training on grass. No definitive timeline yet but the Spaniard is pushing hard to appear before the end of the season.
— HandofArsenal (@HandofArsenal) May 6, 2026
Merino has attended near enough every team meeting possible being 1/7 members of the leadership group despite his injury. pic.twitter.com/IHMACudtM5
Meanwhile, Arteta provided an update on Timber in his press conference on Friday afternoon. Speaking to the media, the Spaniard confirmed that the Dutchman won’t feature against West Ham as he continues his rehabilitation.
“No chance for the weekend,” he said.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs West Ham
Arteta is likely to be tempted to stick with the team he’s started in the last two matches, given how successful this set-up was in both games. However, the manager should refrain from doing so, and should instead look to keep his players fresh and the entire squad engaged.
A handful of changes wouldn’t go amiss, particularly around the edges of the team. David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are the only players immune to being left out of the starting eleven.
Everything else is up for debate, including whether Ben White should retain his place at right-back. White was excellent against Atletico Madrid and has probably earned the spot, although you could certainly make a case for resting him and bringing in Cristhian Mosquera.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | GD |
| 1 | Arsenal | 76 | 35 | +41 |
| 2 | Man City | 71 | 34 | +37 |
At left-back, Piero Hincapie may come back into the side, in place of Riccardo Calafiori. In midfield, Arteta will have to make a decision between Myles Lewis-Skelly and Martin Zubimendi, and he may ultimately opt for the latter’s experience.
In forward areas, Martin Odegaard’s availability means Arteta has another opportunity to experiment with using Eberechi Eze off the left, with the Norwegian in the middle. Viktor Gyokeres’ imperious display against Atletico means he likely shouldn’t be dropped up front.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs West Ham: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze.
West Ham vs Arsenal Prediction
Aside from a disappointing defeat away at Brentford in their last outing, West Ham have performed impressively of late. The Irons haven’t lost at the London Stadium since January, with this unbeaten run on home soil consisting of draws against City and Manchester United.
Espirito Santo’s team have frustrated some of the better attacks in the league by sitting deep, absorbing pressure and closing the spaces in which the opposition have to operate. This is the exact sort of side Arsenal struggle to deal with.
That said, the Gunners should be capable of negating West Ham’s offensive threat throughout. The Hammers also have a poor defensive record from set-pieces, meaning Arsenal do have a clear route to victory.
It won’t be pretty, but they’ll get the job done.
Prediction: West Ham 0-1 Arsenal
