In what is a crucial match for both sides, Champions League final-bound Arsenal continue their bid for a first top-flight title for 22 years against a West Ham United side who dropped into the bottom three after last weekend’s results. BBC Sport takes a look at the key themes ahead of Sunday’s game (16:30 BST).
Title chances in Arsenal’s hands
The equation for Arsenal is simple on paper; win all four of their remaining matches and it will be the greatest season in the club’s 139-year history.
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Thierry Henry, part of the unbeaten “Invincibles” side, who were the last Arsenal team to win a league title in 2003-04, said that Mikel Arteta’s squad would be known as the “Unforgettables” if they were to pull off a Premier League and Champions League double.
The Gunners travel to West Ham still on cloud nine after Tuesday’s win over Atletico Madrid, but that euphoria must be put on hold as they get back to the business of trying to end their painful wait for a 14th top-flight title.
After consecutive league defeats last month their mettle and bottle was called into question but successive home wins – allied to Manchester City’s draw at Everton on Monday – has handed the initiative firmly back to the Gunners.
If recent history is anything to go by, struggling West Ham are the ideal opposition for Arteta’s side to face. The Gunners have only picked up more Premier League wins against Everton (40) than the 38 they have against the Hammers.
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They have scored 11 goals across their last two visits to the London Stadium courtesy of a 6-0 thrashing in 2023-24 and a 5-2 victory last season. The only side in English league history to score five or more in three successive away games against the same opponent is West Brom at Birmingham between 1957 and 1960.
If Arsenal do secure a crucial win it will also set a new club record of 42 victories in all competitions within the same season, breaking a tie with their famous Double-winning side from 1970-71.
Their victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday also saw them record a 30th clean sheet of the campaign, which is their most since 1993-94.
[BBC]
Hammers endure horror weekend
While Arsenal are on a high, West Ham endured a morale-sapping weekend which ended with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side slipping into the bottom three. Their heavy defeat at Brentford, coupled with Tottenham’s win at Aston Villa, means with three games to go they are a point adrift of their bitter rivals with an inferior goal difference.
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The Gunners are the last team the Hammers will want to meet given their recent record in home league matches against the north Londoners. Mikel Arteta’s side have scored a whopping 21 goals across their last six top-flight visits to Stratford.
London derbies on home soil have also been a real Achilles heel for West Ham this season and they will be desperate to avoid making a very unwanted piece of history.
Having already lost at the London Stadium to Chelsea, Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Fulham they could become the first side in English league history to lose six home games against fellow London teams within a season.
[BBC]
They are at least unbeaten in their last six home league matches, which is their best run since their final season at Upton Park in 2015-16 (15 games)
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Nuno has named the same starting XI for four consecutive Premier League games but will surely be tempted to mix things up after saying his side “lost composure” after conceding the second goal against the Bees.
They did strike the woodwork four times in that match – a joint record in a Premier League game this season – but hard luck stories count for nothing at this stage of the campaign.
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