Scenes of joy greeted Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates last week and, by narrowing the gap to two points at the top of the table, put the Gunners in the thick of the title race.
But MIkel Arteta’s side will be unable to take anything for granted when they head across the capital to the London Stadium for a date with West Ham.
The Hammers need to pick themselves up from a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United last week, but that was only the second loss David Moyes’s side have suffered in their last 12 league games, so they will be confident they can get the better of Arsenal, who they beat 2-0 in December’s reverse fixture.
- West Ham draw no bet
- Over 2.5 goals
- Mohammed Kudus to score at anytime
Hammers Should Not Be Dismissed
Arsenal are again having dreams of winning the Premier League this season and while they were excellent in their 3-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday, they still have a few questions to answer.
One of those is whether they can dominate the division’s stronger teams when on their travels as it is noticeable that five of their six away victories this season have come against sides who started the weekend dwelling in the bottom seven spots.
Bournemouth, who are 12th, are the highest-ranked team against whom the Gunners have claimed an away win and a victory at West Ham is no formality.
The Hammers have already claimed a 2-0 win at the Emirates in December and have fallen to just one defeat in their last nine home matches.
Admittedly, the 3-0 loss at Manchester United last week was underwhelming, but David Moyes’s team can be a different animal on their own manor.
Three of their last five home games have ended level, so the draw-no-bet market could be the best way to play, but they are capable of bringing the Gunners back down to earth.
Goals Could Be On The Agenda
Last year’s London Stadium meeting was a 2-2 thriller and seven of the last nine games between these two London rivals have featured at least three goals, so there is a decent chance the pattern will be repeated in Sunday’s clash.
There have been 12 goals in Arsenal’s last three league matches and, after they scored twice in the opening 10 minutes the last time they were at West Ham, they can be expected to be positive, especially on the back of such an impressive result as the win over Liverpool.
They have failed to score in just two of their 11 away league games this season, but West Ham should also be on the front foot.
They tend to rise well to the challenge of London derbies, spurred on by a vociferous home crowd who are in their element in such circumstances, so there seems a strong chance there will be at least three goals.
Kudus Deserves Plenty Of Credit
West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus has impressed since making his move to the East End from Ajax and he is worth supporting in the anytime-goalscorer market as he goes in search of his seventh Premier League goal of the campaign.
The Ghanaian made a strong impression at the Africa Cup of Nations, scoring twice in their 2-2 group-stage draw with Egypt and he has not been shy in having an effort in goal since he joined the Hammers.
He has registered at least two attempts in seven of his last eight starts for his club and had four in the defeat at Old Trafford, so his performances for his country look to have had a positive impact on his confidence.
MOHAMMED KUDUS TO SCORE ANYTIME
