“Live Blog Updated: 15:01, 22 Feb 2025 ARSENAL are taking on West Ham in a huge London derby RIGHT NOW! The second-placed Gunners look to make up ground on leaders Liverpool as they host Graham Potter’s struggling side. The Gunners were handed a title boost when rivals from Merseyside dropped points midweek at Villa Park.”, — write: www.thesun.co.uk
- Updated: 15:01, 22 Feb 2025
The second-placed Gunners look to make up ground on leaders Liverpool as they host Graham Potter’s struggling side.
The Gunners were handed a title boost when rivals from Merseyside dropped points midweek at Villa Park.
The gap remains at sizeable at eight points, but a win would see it close by three ahead of Liverpool’s blockbuster clash against Manchester City.
As for the Hammers, their form under new-year appointment Potter has remained stale – with one win in six, and though face little threat of relegation will look to kick-start the new managerial era with a big win.
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- Arsenal team: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino
- West Ham team: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Scarles, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Alvarez, Bowen, Kudus
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Arsenal 0-0 West Ham4. Arsenal are dominating possession early on and force Areola into a shaky clearance with an aggressive press, much to the delight of the home fans.
The hosts look very comfortable.
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KICK OFF – Arsenal 0-0 West Ham1′ Craig Pawson blows the whistle and we’re off!
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The sides are out!North London forever rings around the Emirates as West Ham wait to kick off.
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Trossard is confident in the Gunners’ belief
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Potter remains positive in press conference despite shaky startThe manager insists he is “loving” life with the Hammers, adding: “There’s always more work to do, and always room for improvement.
“I realised before, and now, that it’s a huge club with great support, ambition and infrastructure.
“There’s loads going for it, and obviously we’ve had a tricky situation with changing managers, the results and everything else.”
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Jarrod Bowen leading the lineLike their opponents, West Ham are facing their own attacking problems this season.
As the Hammers’ top scorer this season, with 7 goals in all competitions, Bowen will be integral to Potters’ side trying to revive their run of bad form.
Lucas Paqueta and German striker Niclas Fullkrug are waiting to return, while Mohammed Kudus is a shadow of his former self.
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Here come the Gunners!Arsenal’s squad come out to a huge cheer from the home crowd.
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And the Hammers are out!The West Ham players look sharp warming up in front of a slowly-filling Emirates crowd.
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Arteta refuses to let the title race break his focusWith Liverpool taking on Manchester City on Sunday, the Arsenal manager refused to break focus in his pre-match press conference, saying: “We have to do our job and it’s going to be a tough one tomorrow against West Ham.
“If we do that, we’ll be looking at that game on Sunday.
“With 13 games to go there’s still a lot to play for and you can see how difficult it is for everybody to win football matches, so we need to be there.”
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The Hammers’ goalkeepers are out on the pitchAlphonso Areola is between the sticks for this clash at the Emirates.
Lukasz Fabianski joins his teammate as they get a feel for the pitch in front of eager fans.
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Arsenal goalkeepers warming upDavid Raya, Neto and Tommy Setford are warming up in front of the Arsenal fans.
Raya was forced to spend a stint on the sidelines in January but is back to being the Gunners’ number one.
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Can West Ham stop the rampant Gunners?The starting lineups are out and seats are filling up in the Emirates.
Arsenal won the last two fixtures in this London derby by scoring an impressive 11 goals, and the Gunners have beaten the Hammers 37 times in the Premier League, more than any other side.
Even so, West Ham won the last fixture hosted at the Emirates between the pair 2-0 back in December 2023.
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New look West HamThe Hammers make four changes from their painful performance against Brentford last time out.
Kostantinos Mavropanos and Emerson will sit on the bench as Todibo and Aaron Cresswell return.
James Ward-Prowse and Oliver Scarles come back into West Ham’s midfield, with Lucas Paqueta injured and Carlos Soler dropped.
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Mikel Merino starts up front for the GunnersMerino came to Arsenal’s rescue against Leicester, scoring a brace as a makeshift striker, and his performance earns him the No 9 spot for their clash with West Ham.
Raheem Sterling is dropped to the bench amidst concerns around his confidence, and Trossard looks likely to play on the left wing.
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West Ham team newsStarting lineup: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Scarles, Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Bowen, Kudus
Substitutes: Fabianski, Soler, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Emerson, Ferguson, Irving
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Arsenal team newsStarting lineup: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino
Substitutes: Neto, White, Tierney, Lewis-Skelly, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji, Sterling
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Welcome to Arsenal vs West HamThe Gunners welcome struggling London rivals West Ham to the Emirates as they look to come within five points of league leaders Liverpool.
Two draws in their last three outings has piled the pressure on Arne Slot’s side, while Arsenal’s win over Leicester City last weekend saw their unbeaten run reach 15 games – their longest since 2011 when they managed 16.
Graham Potter will be hoping to end a dismal spell of four losses on the trot in the Premier League with the Hammers sitting in 16th place.
Follow our live coverage from The Emirates.
Credit: Reuters
