Arsenal vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance59,777.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will again be absent from the Arsenal squad while West Ham hope to have Aaron Cresswell in contention; watch free match highlights on Sky Sports digital platforms and YouTube channel shortly after full-time
Wednesday 15 December 2021 19:05, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Arsenal vs West Ham in the Premier League on Wednesday (kick-off 8pm).
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will sit out the match for Arsenal following internal club disciplinary action.
Forward Aubameyang was dropped ahead of Saturday's 3-0 victory over Southampton, reportedly over a late return from a trip abroad to visit his ill mother, and has since been stripped of the captaincy.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno continues to be assessed over a groin problem, so Arthur Okonkwo could again be on the bench. Defender Sead Kolasinac (ankle) is stepping up his own recovery.
Arsenal provisional squad: Ramsdale, Tierney, White, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Partey, Saka, Odegaard, Xhaka, Lacazette, Martinelli, Okonkwo, Holding, Soares, Tavares, Smith Rowe, Maitland-Niles, Lokonga, Pepe, Nketiah.
West Ham are hopeful Aaron Cresswell will be in contention following a lower back injury.
Cresswell has missed the draws against Brighton and Burnley, either side of the win against Chelsea, but boss David Moyes is optimistic the left-back will make the trip to north London.
Defenders Kurt Zouma (thigh), Angelo Ogbonna (knee), Ben Johnson (thigh) and Ryan Fredericks (groin) all remain sidelined.
West Ham provisional squad: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma, Antonio, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Vlasic, Areola, Noble, Diop, Masuaku, Kral, Perkins, Alese, Ashby, Baptiste.
Follow Arsenal vs West Ham in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after full-time.
Arsenal are making The Emirates a fortress. I want to back them here at 23/20 with Sky Bet.
They have won eight of their last nine matches at home, winning the last four without conceding a goal. Thou shall not pass the axis of Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and the impressive Gabriel.
One area of the pitch where West Ham will have an edge is in central midfield as Declan Rice's form continues to impress. To my eye there isn't an better all-round midfielder than him in the Premier League - he can do it all. He ranks second in the Premier League for distance carried with the ball this season (3,804m) - only behind Allan Saint-Maximin.
I'm absolutely convinced he's going to become even more of a force in the next few months. The more confident and experienced he becomes at driving into the final third, the more he'll become overpriced in various shots and goals markets. I like the look of the 9/2 for him to have a shot on target from outside the area. He's fired six shots on target in his last seven Premier League fixtures and went close with an off-target attempt in the draw with Burnley.
Arsenal should afford Rice plenty of space to work in, too. They are happy to defend a little deeper than most teams in the Premier League and no team has conceded more shots on target from outside the box this season (29). To expand on that further, since Mikel Arteta took over in December 2019, only Aston Villa, Newcastle and Crystal Palace have conceded more shots on target from outside the area (93).
Rice will be licking his lips. The 12/1 with Sky Bet for an Arsenal win and Rice to hit the target from outside the box is very chunky.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0
BETTING ANGLE: Arsenal to win & Declan Rice to have a shot on target from outside the box (12/1 with Sky Bet)
