West Ham United v Arsenal
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 30 November 2024, 5.30pm GMT
West Ham United face a quick turnaround as they return to Premier League action when Arsenal make the trip to east London on Saturday.
Julen Lopetegui’s men go into the contest having produced arguably their best performance of the season to defeat Newcastle United 2-0 in their own backyard on Monday.
A win at St James’ Park may not be an outlier in the history books, but that resounding result could be the turning point in a season of indifferent results so far, and the Hammers will be looking to continue building momentum as they enter a packed festive period.
The Irons have largely enjoyed a string of good results against the Gunners recently, having won two and drawn one of the teams’ previous four meetings in all competitions, but they will be wary of the stern test promised by a side sitting in the UEFA Champions League spots, and pushing for the title.
Arsenal will make the short trip across the capital full of confidence after their impressive 5-1 triumph over Sporting CP on Tuesday, that stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to three games.
Tickets…
Tickets for this sold-out game are still available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend this fixture relisting their seats for other supporters to buy. Click HERE to check availability or relist.
Travel…
There are no planned disruptions to TfL Underground services on the Central, Jubilee, Bakerloo, Circle, District, Metropolitan or Northern lines, although there are set to be issues on Piccadilly, Elizabeth line and Docklands Light Railway services. Supporters using these services are highly recommended to check their routes before departure.
There are no planned issues on the Southeastern network, but there are set to be disruptions to Greater Anglia services, as well as the c2c mainline.
Stratford and Stratford City Bus Stations are located in close proximity to Stratford station. Buses that run to these stations are numbers: 25, 86, 97, 104, 108, 158, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 425, 473, D8.
Supporters using public transport are advised to check their journeys before they travel, using resources such as TfL’s Journey Planner and the TfL Go app. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website if travelling on the rail network.
There is no parking available at London Stadium. Restrictions will be in place and enforced in the local area.
How To Follow…
West Ham United’s home Premier League match against Arsenal has been selected for broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports.
If you live outside the UK, click HERE for details of Premier League listings in your territory.
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.
Rainbow Laces...
West Ham United will be marking Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign at Saturday's game.
Clubs and communities are stronger when everyone feels welcome, and it’s down to all of us to make that happen.
That’s why we at West Ham United proudly stand alongside Stonewall and the Premier League in promoting equality and diversity.
All Premier League clubs - including the Hammers - are coming together between 29 November and 5 December to celebrate Stonewall’s 2024/25 Rainbow Laces campaign and show support for all LGBT people in football and beyond.
At Saturday's top-flight clash against Arsenal, keep your eye out for bespoke Rainbow Laces pitch flags, ball plinths, handshake boards and substitute boards. There will be also rainbow captain’s armbands on show, and an interview with West Ham United LGBTQ+ Inclusion Supporters’ Group Pride of Irons in the Official Programme.
Official Programme…
At 116 pages, the publication remains the largest in English football, while this year each Premier League issue also comes with a bespoke cover illustration and an eight-page pullout, complete with an eye-catching poster, a brainteasing quiz and plenty of games for our younger Hammers.
Our ninth issue of the season is led by an extensive interview with our Greece international defender Dinos Mavropanos, who discusses his journey back to the Premier League with the Hammers, following a spell at Arsenal earlier in his career, success with his country and building strong partnerships with Jean-Clair Todibo and Maximilian Kilman. Mavropanos features on the programme's cover, which has been created by renowned illustrator Osvaldo Casanova.
We also have words from Club captain Jarrod Bowen, Head Coach Julen Lopetegui and Steve Blowers’ chat with legendary former physiotherapist Rob Jenkins as we continue celebrating the 50th anniversary of our 1975 FA Cup win, while we've got exciting features with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Danny Ings, exclusive columns galore, stats and in-depth analysis from Analytics United, too!
With the latest news from our Academy, women’s team and Foundation, plus puzzles, statistics and the lowdown on our opponents from Emirates Stadium, the Official Programme is packed full of content for you! In this edition, there are also pages dedicated to Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign, while we celebrate the work of Richard House Children's Hospice, a charity close to the Club's heart.
Team News…
Midfielder Edson Álvarez is eligible for selection after serving a two-match suspension for the red card he picked up away at Nottingham Forest at the start of this month.
Mohammed Kudus will serve the last of his five-game ban, having been sent-off in the Hammers’ Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in October.
Forward Niclas Füllkrug has missed the last nine Premier League games since he suffered an injury in his calf and Achilles area while on international duty with Germany in September, and will once again be assessed ahead of kick-off.
Head Coach Julen Lopetegui will not be on the touchline for West Ham’s match at home to Arsenal this weekend, having picked up his third yellow card of the season at Newcastle United on Monday.
Arsenal are expected to be without Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, while defender Gabriel Magalhães will need to be assessed after coming off against Sporting.
Opposition…
When Arsenal thumped Leeds United 4-1 at Emirates Stadium on 1 April 2023, it appeared just a matter of time before the Gunners were crowned Premier League champions for the first time since 2003/04.
Victory over the relegation-bound Yorkshire side - Mikel Arteta’s 100th as manager and Arsenal’s seventh top-flight win in a row - put Arsenal eight points clear at the top of the table with nine games to play.
Pundits purred at the way Arsenal were ‘cruising’ to victories. However, two months later, Arteta and his squad were wondering what might have been, as a run of three draws and three defeats in their closing nine matches saw Manchester City roar past their rivals to claim the title.
A year later, Arsenal won 28 of their 38 Premier League matches, conceded just 29 goals, scored 91 and amassed 89 points - just one fewer than the 90 won by the ‘Invincibles’ of 2003/04. After losing at home to West Ham United in late December, Arsenal tasted defeat just once in their final 18 matches, collecting 50 points from a possible 54.
And yet still that wasn’t enough.
Again, it was Manchester City who pipped the north Londoners to the crown, going unbeaten from 10 December until the end of the season and going top with a 2-0 win at Arsenal’s great rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the final week of the season. If losing the title in 2022/23 was galling, losing it in 2023/24 was devastating.
The question now is, do Arsenal have it in them to mount another title challenge?
With Liverpool making an outstanding start to the campaign under new manager Arne Slot, Chelsea resurgent under Enzo Maresca, and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City surely set to overcome their recent struggles, the race to finish first looks to be a competitive one.
Meanwhile, the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, and perhaps even Manchester United under new manager Rúben Amorim, will also harbour hopes of crashing the European qualification places.
Injuries to England internationals Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, the recent absence of captain Martin Ødegaard and the ongoing debate over Arsenal’s lack of an out-and-out centre-forward have not helped the Gunners’ cause.
It is not like Arsenal have been poor this season - their home form remains exceptional - but relative to recent campaigns it has been stuttering. With Manchester City off-colour, the opportunity is there to end the Citizens’ run of titles, but will it be Arsenal who take advantage?
Previous Meetings…
Saturday's contest marks the 152nd competitive meeting between West Ham and Arsenal, and the 57th in the Premier League.
Overall, the Gunners lead the head-to-head statistics, with 73 wins to their name. There have been 41 draws between the teams, while West Ham have come out on top on 37 occasions.
The Hammers have claimed full shares of the spoils in two of the last three match-ups, with Tomáš Souček and Dinos Mavropanos goals sinking the hosts at Emirates Stadium at the end of 2023. Before that, we triumphed 3-1 on home turf in the EFL Cup in November.
In general, London Stadium has been a reasonably happy hunting ground for the Gunners, who have won on four of their nine visits, including the instantly forgettable 6-0 humbling in February.
Back in May 1980, the Irons claimed their third and most-recent FA Cup title thanks to a 1-0 win over Arsenal in the final at Wembley, with Trevor Brooking’s 13th-minute strike proving the difference.
Match Officials…
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Bobby Madley
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes
Anthony Taylor has been confirmed as the man in the middle for Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Arsenal.
A top-flight referee since 2010, Taylor is one of England’s most experienced officials and has previously taken charge of two FA Cup finals, an EFL Cup final, the FA Community Shield, the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup final, the 2023 UEFA Europa League final and, at international level, the 2021 UEFA Nations League final between France and Spain. In 2020, Taylor became the first referee since 1901 to referee two FA Cup finals when he was in charge of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea.
Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, he worked his way up to the Premier League after starting out in the Northern Premier League - English football’s seventh tier - and since February 2010, when he took charge of a game between Portsmouth and Fulham, Taylor has tallied 382 Premier League matches and counting.
The 45-year-old also famously reacted quickly when Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed during his country's UEFA Euro 2020 group-stage tie with Finland, and is credited with helping save the Manchester United midfielder's life due to his swift actions in calling for medical attention.
A veteran of nearly 750 games in all competitions, Taylor refereed his 37th fixture involving West Ham United against Ipswich in October, when goals from Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá earned the Hammers their first home three-point haul of the season.
The Arsenal clash is the 12th Premier League match in which Taylor has held the whistle in the 2024/25 season, with his most recent appointment coming in Ipswich’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United last weekend.
For more information about the officials, click HERE.
