Arsenal will play hosts to West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon hoping to pick up a victory in this London encounter. The Gunners will come into this contest on the back of a 2-0 win over Portsmouth in midweek. The North London giants will be desperate for the three points so that they can close the gap to fifth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta will set-up his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make a whole host of changes to his first-team for this clash versus the Hammers.
4-2-3-1 Arsenal Predicted Lineup Vs West Ham United
Defence
Bernd Leno will operate in goal for the Gunners after he was rested against Portsmouth in midweek. Shkodran Mustafi is a significant concern for this match. If the German can recover in time, he is expected to get the nod to start alongside David Luiz at the heart of the Arsenal backline. Otherwise, Pablo Mari could be given a start in front of the home supporters at North London.
Héctor Bellerín will line up in the right-back position while Bukayo Saka keeps his place on the other side as the left-back. Both full-backs will look to push high up the pitch so that they can provide adequate support to the front players. Arteta will instruct his players to dominate the ball and not concede too many chances on the break.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka will anchor the midfield with Dani Ceballos operating alongside him. They will both focus on protecting the Arsenal backline by nipping the opposition attacks in the bud. The talented trio of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe will play just ahead of them as part of the Gunners attack.
Aubameyang will carry most of the goal-scoring workload down the left while Ozil looks to create some decent openings for others around him. Mattéo Guendouzi will have to settle for a spot on the bench but might get a chance to make an impact late in the game if required.
Attack
Eddie Nketiah could get the responsibility to lead the charge up top. He will try to put on an impressive showing inside what is expected to be a packed Emirates Stadium this weekend. Alexandre Lacazette could come off the bench to feature as an impact substitute in the second half.
