Arsenal vs West Ham: Match Preview, Lineup, Prediction & TV Channel

Arsenal will finally get back to playing competitive football today after six weeks of international football, with West Ham making the short trip across London for today’s encounter.

The Gunners come into the game with the much better form. While we have won each of our last three league outings, without conceding a single goal in that time, our rivals come into this on the back of consecutive defeats.

What will be interesting is if the home side are able to quickly take a grip on the game like they had been before the World Cup, starting most of our matches at full speed and putting our opponents swiftly on the backfoot, but Boxing Day can often bring it’s own difficulties.

The festive Christmas period is known for throwing up some surprise results, and our record of five wins from our last eight Boxing Day fixtures isn’t amazing. I have the painful memory of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Southampton which I can’t get out of my head, that was before Mikel Arteta had called time on his playing career, let alone taken up the helm at the Emirates.

While I sound like I may be trying to talk myself out of predicting a nice comfy win, I can’t help but feel like today is the day for us to make a statement, and I really do see us setting a precedent. I believe the Hammers will struggle to deal with us at the Emirates today, and am going with a nice 3-0 win for good measure.

Any win will see us move eight points clear at the top of the table, and I just can’t see how the away side leave with any points if we turn up today.

In their 15th league game of the season, the North London club will be hoping to continue their incredible run of form from before the break. A win against the Hammers would keep them in first place.

Despite missing their top scorer Gabriel Jesus due to injury, the Spanish coach will still be fielding a formidable starting XI, with the following likely lineup:

With Aaron Ramsdale as the likely starting goalkeeper, the starting back line should consist of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba at the two central positions, Kieran Tierney and Ben White on the wings, while the fullback position should be filled by the versatile Xherdan Shaqiri.

Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey could start in the center of the field, where they are expected to take on a more defensive role, while Emile Smith-Rowe, Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka are options to support Gabriel Martinelli, who is projected to be the main striker up top in the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Arsenal Lineup

Introducing our starting XI…

🇫🇷 William Saliba starts
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @Kierantierney1 at left back
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @EddieNketiah9 in attack

COME ON YOU GUNNERS! ✊ pic.twitter.com/KpytsFQ9wF

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 26, 2022

West Ham Lineup

Your Irons ⚒️#ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/OZd7Yoxr8J

— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 26, 2022

TV: BT Sport, Sky Sports, Supersport, Sling TV, DST Now.