West Ham United v Arsenal
Carabao Cup fourth round, London Stadium, Wednesday 1 November 2023, 7.30pm
West Ham United return to domestic cup action with a London derby, as Arsenal make the trip across the capital to east London.
The Hammers and the Gunners meet at the round of 16 stage in the competition, having progressed through the third round at the end of September.
David Moyes’ Irons secured a 1-0 win away to EFL League One Lincoln City in that round of fixtures, thanks to Tomáš Souček’s 70th-minute finish, while Arsenal also got a 1-0 victory away from home; against fellow Premier League side Brentford.
Tickets…
Supporters are advised that tickets are completely sold out for Wednesday’s home Carabao Cup fixture against Arsenal.
Travel…
London Underground Jubilee and Central line services are scheduled to operate to Stratford with a good service on Sunday. The Docklands Light Railway is also anticipated to run as normal, with a good service.
The Elizabeth Line is scheduled to run with its regular service, too.
On the Overground, there will be no service between Stratford and Camden Road after 11.45pm. The last westbound service from Stratford departs at 11.44pm. Supporters who make use of this line are advised to ensure they check their journey times before travel, as there are also altercations to the service earlier in the evening.
On the c2c line, there are engineering works between Fenchurch Street and Barking/Upminster. Passengers with a valid ticket can use Jubilee/DLR services between Stratford – West Ham and DLR services between Tower Gateway – Limehouse – Stratford. Liverpool Street is a short walk from Fenchurch Street.
How To Follow…
West Ham United’s Carabao Cup clash with Arsenal has been selected for broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports, with coverage starting at 7pm GMT.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live and worldwide on our official website and app.
Carabao Cup rules...
Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie will be settled on the night at London Stadium.
In the event that the scores remain level after 90 minutes, the match will go straight to penalties and there will be no extra-time played.
Before that, each manager can name nine substitutes, of whom five can be used. Each club is permitted a maximum of three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding half-time.
Official Programme…
You can order your edition of the Official Programme for West Ham United v Arsenal now here!
The 116-page publication is the largest in the Premier League and, at just £4 per issue, represents superb value for money for supporters wanting exclusive interviews, attention-grabbing opinions and eye-catching photographs, plus the regular news, columns and statistics and insightful content from across all areas of the Club.
The Official Programme is the definitive Claret and Blue publication for West Ham fans and the latest issue can be ordered here.
Team News…
David Moyes will be hoping for a clean bill of health throughout his squad after Sunday’s Premier League outing against Everton.
Vladimír Coufal and Łukasz Fabiański were absent from last Thursday’s UEFA Europa League trip to Olympiacos, but both recovered to be in the matchday squad at home to the Toffees at the weekend.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are without Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey, with the duo thought to be out for a few weeks due to a hamstring injury and a thigh problem, respectively.
Summer signing Jurrien Timber is a long-term absentee after an ACL injury in August.
Captain Martin Odegaard missed out on the Gunners' 5-0 win over Sheffield United at the weekend but is anticipated to be fit enough for Wednesday, is required.
Opposition…
Opportunities to lift silverware in Engish football are severely limited.
Arsenal found that last season, when they led the Premier League table for 248 days but ultimately finished second to Pep Guardiola’s treble winners.
The Gunners also had the misfortune to draw Manchester City away in the FA Cup fourth round and lost 1-0, while Brighton & Hove Albion and Sporting Lisbon proved too strong in the EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League respectively.
And so, despite winning 32 of their 49 games in all competitions, and losing just nine, Arsenal ended the 2022/23 campaign empty-handed.
Mikel Arteta’s side did kick-off the current season with victory over their closest rivals City in the FA Community Shield in August, defeating them on penalties, but Arsenal supporters crave a major trophy.
Since the Spaniard returned to north London in 2019, Arsenal have won one FA Cup, along with two Community Shields, but remember this is a fanbase that was increasingly brought up on The Invincibles, Arsène Wenger, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp; a fanbase which celebrated ten major trophies during the Frenchman’s 12-year tenure between 1996 and 2018, and also enjoyed trips to two European finals.
And so, for all Arsenal’s outstanding play – and Arteta has got his exciting young team playing some exciting, entertaining football – the club’s large and diverse fanbase want nothing more than to see their team regain their position as a feared force, not just in English, but in European football.
The north Londoners have a brilliant squad, full of both quality and potential. Arsenal’s players are already very good, but they will all get better. Only four members of Arteta’s squad are aged over 30, and of them only Jorginho is a regular starter.
Even then, the younger members of the group already possess plenty of top-level experience.
At 24, Declan Rice, as we know, has more than 250 club appearances, a European final, nearly 50 England caps, a UEFA European Championship final and FIFA World Cup finals under his belt.
At the same age, Martin Ødegaard is captain of Arsenal and Norway and a truly world-class midfielder.
At 22, Bukayo Saka is one of the first names on the Arsenal and England teamsheet and arguably the most outstanding young player in this country.
With the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, fellow Brazil international and serial Premier League title winner Gabriel Jesus and England duo Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe also at his disposal, among others, Arteta and Arsenal’s supporters have plenty of reasons for optimism.
Previous Meetings…
Fixtures against Arsenal and part and parcel for a season at West Ham United.
Wednesday’s game will be the 149th time that the Hammers and the Gunners have played each other, and the first came in domestic cup competition back in January 1906. That was an FA Cup match that ended 1-1.
Since then, the two London teams have regularly faced each other in the top flight of English football, and our last cup outing against Arsenal came in December 2017. On a cold evening in north London, Danny Welbeck got the only goal as the Hammers fell to a 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Our most recent win over Arsenal came in January 2019 when former captain, and current Gunners midfielder, Declan Rice fired in the only goal of the game at London Stadium.
Last time we faced Wednesday’s opponents was in April, when the visitors to east London took an early two-goal lead, before finished from Saïd Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen secured a share of the points.
Match Officials…
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Referees: Darren Cann and Sam Lewis
Fourth Official: Sam Barrott
Simon Hooper has been named as the referee for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth round clash with Arsenal.
Born in Swindon, the 41-year-old began refereeing in The Football League in 2008 and took charge of his first Premier League match in August 2015; a 3-1 win for Crystal Palace at Norwich City.
Promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2018, refereed 29 Premier League matches last season and has been in charge of five in the top flight so far this campaign, most recently refereeing Brentford’s 2-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday.
Hooper’s most recent West Ham fixture was the final match of the 2022/23 Premier League season, where Moyes’ Hammers were beaten 2-1 by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. This is his first visit to London Stadium as the referee since a 2-0 win over Norwich City for West Ham in January 2022.
