Arsenal will aim to replicate their success from their previous visit to the London Stadium when they face local rivals West Ham United in a Premier League clash scheduled for Saturday at 5:30 pm.
Mikel Arteta's squad delivered a dominant 5-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday, just 24 hours after West Ham pulled off a surprising 2-0 win away at Newcastle United.
Back in form following the international break, Arsenal were expected to face a challenging evening against Portuguese giants Sporting at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, despite Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United.
Except for a 15-minute spell at the beginning of the second half, Arsenal enjoyed what could be considered their easiest outing of the season so far. Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Leandro Trossard all played key roles in dismantling their Portuguese opponents.
This emphatic win against Sporting propelled Arsenal into the prestigious top eight of the Champions League standings. It followed an equally commanding 3-0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest, which broke a four-match winless streak in the league and kept Mikel Arteta’s side within the top four.
While the nine-point gap to Liverpool still feels unreachable for now, Arsenal has closed the distance to just one point behind a struggling Manchester City, who face a tough trip to Anfield on Sunday. The Gunners will aim to secure their first league away win since mid-September.
Arsenal’s strong record in London derbies is also notable, with only two losses in 26 Premier League matches against their capital rivals since the start of the 2022-23 season. Additionally, they have scored in 25 of those encounters, showcasing their offensive consistency in such matchups.
However, if Julen Lopetegui is to stay in his position, the one game in that run in which Arsenal failed to score was against none other than the game's forthcoming hosts, West Ham, who were also enjoying a successful away day.
The Irons' trip to St. James' Park on Monday was predicted to go badly for Lopetegui and company, but goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tomas Soucek either side of halftime cut the Magpies' wings and gave West Ham their first victory away from home since late August.
Lopetegui has secured another stay of execution at 14th-place West Ham, who currently have a healthy six-point cushion over Ipswich Town in the highest of the relegation positions, after a week that saw the loss of another top-flight managerial figure in the form of Steve Cooper.
Rebuilding the walls of the London Stadium fortress, West Ham has only lost one of their last four games against Arsenal and has won seven of their last nine available points in Premier League home games, including defeating Ipswich Town and Manchester United before splitting the points with Everton.
But that defeat occurred in the most recent meeting between the two capital rivals at London Stadium, where Arsenal dominated a 6-0 thumping of the Hammers in February 2024, exacting revenge for a 2-0 loss at the Emirates and a 3-1 EFL Cup exit in the same season.
The goal scorer Gabriel's departure toward the conclusion of Arsenal's victory against Sporting was a tiny blot on their Portugal notebook; it is still unknown what exactly was wrong with him, but it would not be shocking if he was saved for the match against Manchester United in the middle of the week.
Trossard and Mikel Merino could provide some new legs to the starting lineup, so the Arsenal manager shouldn't be afraid to make a few unannounced changes as well, like he did in a surprising selection against Forest.
Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are the only Gunners players sidelined due to knee injuries, as Kieran Tierney eventually recovered from a hamstring issue to start on the bench in the Champions League.
Perhaps the most significant squad news for West Ham comes from the dugout, as head coach Lopetegui received his third warning of the season at St. James' Park and was given a touchline ban for the match against Arsenal.
