Preview: Arsenal v. West Ham United

Denilson gave Arsenal an early lead in this fixture last year. Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, October 30

15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT

• Referee: Mike Jones
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 2 - 0 West Ham
• All-Time in All Competitions: 52 Arsenal wins, 33 West Ham wins, 38 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: W-D-L-L-W-W
• West Ham's League Form: L-D-W-D-D-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Denilson

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Djourou, Eboue, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Vela
Suspended: Wilshere (third of three, serious foul play)
Out: Gibbs (knee), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles), Van Persie (ankle), Ramsey (broken leg)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Kieran Gibbs just cannot stay healthy. Gibbs picked up an MCL strain on Wednesday and will miss "a few weeks," the full length of which will be determined by a scan on Friday.
• Abou Diaby drops out of the squad with his ankle injury, having never come back to full fitness after picking up the knock against Bolton in September. We've seen him fit enough to play, but now that most of the midfield is back from other injuries, Diaby drops out as a precaution.
• Manuel Almunia is still one or two week away from returning from his elbow injury, at which point he'll probably have to earn his job back.
• Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey will return to full training at the end of next week.
• Thomas Vermaelen is improving ever so slowly.
• This is the final match of Jack Wilshere's suspension.
• Arsenal have won four straight across all competitions.
• The Gunners took all three points from each of their next five fixtures the last time they were played in the league (either last year, or in the case of Newcastle, two years ago.)

West Ham News and Notes

• Matthew Upson has a slight hamstring complaint and might miss this match, as could Frederic Piquionne, who picked up a knock against Newcastle in the league last week.
• Longer term injuries include Jack Collison (knee), Zavon Hines (knee), and Thomas Hitzlsperger (thigh.)
• West Ham needed added time to knock Stoke out of the Carling Cup, 3-1 on Wednesday.
• West Ham sit in last place in the Premier League, level on points with Wolves but three back on goal difference.
• The Hammers have only one league win this season, but they have two in the Carling Cup and have lost only one of their last seven matches across all competitions; this after losing their first four in the league.

Match Facts

• Arsenal played West Ham three times last year: twice in the league and once in the FA Cup. Arsenal won 2-0 in the only match of those three at the Emirates: Denilson scored the winner five minutes in, Vermaelen was sent off for a last man foul, Almunia stopped the resulting penalty, and Arsenal dominated the second half despite being a man short before a Fabregas penalty secured three points.
• Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead and drew 2-2 in the league fixture at Upton Park last year; West Ham blew a 1-0 lead a lost 2-1 at Upton Park in the third round of the FA Cup in January.
• West Ham became the first visiting team to win at the Emirates, winning 1-0 on April 7, 2007. It was the 23rd match in the stadium's history. West Ham were also the last visiting team to win at Highbury.
• That 2007 win was the last time West Ham won at Arsenal, though they picked up a 0-0 draw in January of 2009.

The Referee

• The referee is Mike Jones.
• He took charge of Arsenal's 6-0 win against Blackpool in August. This is his first West Ham match this year.
• Last year, he only took charge of two Arsenal matches: 4-0 home wins against Wigan and Fulham. That means in three matches he's worked, Arsenal has combined to outscore their opponents 14-0.
• For West Ham, he worked a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa and a 1-0 win against Sunderland last year.

Around the League

• Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. Chelsea; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Saturday: Everton v. Stoke City; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Fulham v. Wigan Athletic; Craven Cottage, London
• Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Manchester City; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Saturday: Manchester United v. Tottenham Hotspur; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Sunday: Aston Villa v. Birmingham City; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Sunday: Newcastle United v. Sunderland; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Sunday: Bolton Wanderers v. Liverpool; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Monday: Blackpool v. West Bromwich Albion; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool