Key events
56 min Zubimendi overhits a simple pass out to Eze, a symbol of Arsenal’s sloppy performance since half-time.
55 min And this is how the bottom of the table will look should West Ham draw the game.
54 min If the match is drawn, Arsenal will be three points and one goal ahead of Manchester City having played a game more. It’s Spandex-tight, and not in a good way.
53 min “Given what’s at stake for these two sides,” begins Peter Oh, “watching this as a fan with skin in the game must be – in Pep Guardiola’s words – so tough, so tough.”
52 min Saka wafts high and wide from distance.
51 min It’s been a bitty start to the second half, which probably suits West Ham more than Arsenal.
49 min Bowen slips a good pass into the area for Castellanos, whose mishit shot on the run is blocked. The ball rebounds to Bowen, whose daisy-cutter from 25 yards is comfortably saved by Raya.
47 min These are the revised line-ups.
West Ham (5-2-2-1) Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Todibo, Mavropanos, Diouf; Soucek, Fernandes; Bowen, Summerville; Castellanos.
Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Wilson, Pablo, Magassa, Scarles, Potts, Kante.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Hincapie, Odegaard, Martinelli, Madueke, Havertz, Dowman.
46 min West Ham get the second half under way. It’s a biggie.
Half-time substitution Cristhian Mosquera is coming on for Riccardo Calafiori, which means Declan Rice will move back into midfield. Myles Lewis-Skelly goes to left-back.
Half-time reading
Half time: West Ham 0-0 Arsenal
It was never going to be PSG 5-4 Bayern revisited, was it? An intriguing, hella tense first half ends with a scoreline that suits neither team.
Arsenal started excellently – Leandro Trossard headed against the bar and post in the same attack, Riccardo Calafiori had a header cleared off the line – but West Ham were more aggressive as half-time approached and caused Arsenal a few problems. The impressive Taty Castellanos drew a good save from David Raya with a spectcular Keith Houchen tribute header.
It may or may not be a coincidence that Arsenal started to lose control of the game when Declan Rice was moved to right-back.
45+2 min Three minutes of added time. Arsenal look a bit rattled; they haven’t been happy with a few of the challenges – Disasi on Gyokeres, Soucek on Lewis-Skelly and Whoeveritwas on Calafiori.
45+1 min The corner is half cleared and knocked back into the box before bouncing through to Raya. Todibo almost had a chance to turn it goalwards from close range but couldn’t sort his feet out.
45 min: Good save by Raya!
West Ham have made some robust challenges in the last few minutes. The latest leaves Calafiori on the floor and allows West Ham to break. Wan-Bissaka charges down the right and crosses early towards Castellanos, who is barely inside the penalty area when he throws himself into a diving header. He makes superb contact, too, and Raya has to dive a long way to his right to push it behind.
43 min Nine of Arsenal’s ten attempts at goal were in the first 22 minutes. The half-time break will come at a good time for them.
40 min West Ham have done well to restore order after a very difficult start to the game. They’ve defended really well in open play, with only one chance for Calafiori, but set-pieces have been a problem.
38 min Summerville is booked for a late challenge on Gabriel, who got to a loose ball first and was clattered a split-second later.
36 min Summerville turns Lewis-Skelly beautifully and sets off on an enterprising run to the edge of the area. Eventually he loses his balance and shoots wide of the far post.
36 min Eze takes a few deep breaths, strides forward… and throttles a poor free-kick into the wall.
35 min The free-kick is fractionally to the right of centre. Rice and Eze are over it…
34 min Zubimendi is fouled 25 yards from goal by Castellanos, who is less then thrilled with the decision and even more aggrieved when a yellow card is wafted in his direction.
33 min West Ham have been better either side of White’s injury, though Arsenal remain the dominant team. The longer it stays 0-0, the more important the first goal becomes.
31 min I wouldn’t have put Declan Rice at right-back, not even on Championship Manager, but I can understand Mikel Arteta’s logic. Arsenal are going to have a lot of the ball in a game they are desperate to win, and this way they get an extra attacking influence on the pitch. Cristhian Mosquera is fairly limited going forward, certainly in comparison to Ben White and Jurrien Timber.
30 min Diouf charges down the left, away from Rice, but then overhits a crossfield pass to Wan-Bissaka.
28 min: Arsenal substitution Martin Zubimendi replaces Ben White, who is being helped down the touchline in a manner that suggests he might be struggling to make the Champions League final.
Declan Rice has gone to right-back, a pretty big surprise given his influence in midfield. Maybe Arsenal want his delivery from wide areas.
27 min A deflected cross from Bowen almost falls perfectly for Diouf in the area. Almost but not quite; the ball runs through to David Raya.
26 min Arsenal are preparing Martin Zubimendi as Ben White’s replacement. That’s a surprise given they have Cristhian Mosquera is on the bench.
26 min White is struggling and may need to come off. Gary Neville, commentating on Sky, says he would have been less susceptible to injury had he made a firmer challenge rather than dangling a leg. I never played right-back so I’ve got nothing to say.
24 min Ben White needs treatment after hurting himself in a block tackle with Summerville.
22 min: Brilliant defending by Mavropanos!
A wicked inswinging free-kick from Rice is glanced on expertly at the near post by Calafiori. His header beats Hermansen and is cleared superbly by Mavropanos, who is facing his own goal but manages to wrap his foot round the ball. That leads to a desperate scramble before West Ham clear the danger.
20 min More of the same. Arsenal have been excellent, not just with the ball but also by stopping any significant West Ham counter-attacks.
16 min A stinging long-range shot from Eze is well blocked by Bowen.
This is looking ominous for West Ham, and Manchester City. Arsenal are completely dominating the game.
13 min West Ham are really struggling to get out. A superb, mostly one-touch move from Arsenal ends with Calafiori shooting fractionally wide from the edge of the D. That was an excellent effort, and Arsenal’s seventh attempt at goal already.
11 min Saka’s corner is headed over by Gabriel.
10 min: Trossard hits bar and post!
The resulting corner is swung deep by Rice and headed powerfully towards goal by Trossard. Hermansen reacts superbly to claw the ball on to the bar, but it loops up in front of goal and Trossard slams another header off the outside of the post!
9 min: Chance for Calafiori!
Trossard, on the left touchline, waves a gorgeous pass with the outside of the foot to put Calafiori through on goal. He takes a fraction too long, intent on taking the chance with his left foot, before flicking a shot that is deflected behind for a corner. Not sure whether Calafiori’s shot would have been on target or not.
8 min The game is starting to settle into the expected pattern: patient Arsenal possession interwoven with urgent West Ham counter-attacking.
5 min After a patient move from Arsenal, Saka thrashes a cross-shot that is comfortably held by Hermansen.
4 min Declan Rice is being booed every time he touches the ball. Is that news?
3 min Some good early possession for West Ham, who have started with Bowen and Summerville as two No10s rather than orthodox wingers.
1 min Arsenal, in their cream change strip, kick off from right to left as we watch.
There’s a cracking atmosphere at the London Stadium. Alas, no sign of Danny Dyer yet. The players look ready for action; they jolly well need to be. This is huge.
A quick reminder of the teams
West Ham (5-2-2-1) Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Todibo, Mavropanos, Diouf; Soucek, Fernandes; Bowen, Summerville; Castellanos.
Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Wilson, Pablo, Magassa, Scarles, Potts, Kante.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Hincapie, Odegaard, Martinelli, Madueke, Havertz, Zubimendi, Dowman.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s pre-match thoughts
It’s a hugely important game for us. We are at home – the London Stadium has been good for us – and we need to compete with a very good opponent.
The fans have been huge for us. They know that we need their energy and their noise.
[On switching to a back five] Arsenal have a lot of threats so we have to be focussed. Also, the players on the bench are gonna be very important for us. Let’s go.
Mikel Arteta’s pre-match thoughts
[On his 500th game at Arsenal: 150 as a player, 350 as a manager] It’s been a long time now! Very proud of that, and we know what is at stake. We know the magnitude of the game – and how much we want it.
[Is today a day for fire or ice?] Warm hearts, cool heads. We need to be emotionally stable and we want to dominate, as we’ve been doing.
[On naming an unchanged side for the first game in a row] We’ve found a lot of fluidity and a lot of threat. We also have the option to change the approach if we need to.
We knew they might [switch to a back five]. Nuno has played so many years with that formation so it’s not a surprise.
Today’s Premier League results
Ed Aarons
A long row of team photos line the corridor that leads from the players’ entrance at the Emirates Stadium to the media area, each taken at the beginning of a new season and featuring any trophies won in the previous campaign. Updated every year, it currently dates back to 2002 when Arsène Wenger masterminded the Premier League and FA Cup double that saw Arsenal come from behind to see off Manchester United in the title race, with the photo of the famous Invincibles proudly on display the next but one along.
That represents the last time they were crowned champions – 22 years ago, the longest Arsenal have gone without winning a league title since they claimed their first of 13 in 1931, when Herbert Chapman was at the helm. Walk a bit further and you will see several more FA Cups, including the victory in Mikel Arteta’s first season after he took over from Unai Emery in December 2019, before the silverware on show abruptly ends. But after three successive runners-up finishes, Arsenal suddenly find themselves within touching distance of winning back the trophy they covet more than any other.
Jacob Steinberg
When David Sullivan was pressed on why West Ham bothered to move to the London Stadium, the lack of substance to his argument offered a window into the club’s dysfunction. “I just think we feel like a big club,” Sullivan said in an interview with the Guardian in December 2017. “Not a tinpot club. When players come to look at West Ham, they look at where you play.”
Look deeper, though. Analysing the club chair’s answer nine years on, the conclusion is that this is an owner whose desire to win is cancelled out by his listlessness. Feeling like a big club, after all, is not the same as being a big club.
Team news
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has switched to a back five, with Jean-Clair Todibo coming into the side in place of Pablo. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is preferred to Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back; those are the only changes from last weekend’s defeat at Brentford.
Arsenal are unchanged from the Champions League semi-final win over Atletico Madrid. That means a third consecutive start in midfield for Myles Lewis-Skelly, who along with the returning Bukayo Saka has breathed new life into Arsenal’s season.
West Ham (5-2-2-1) Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Soucek, Fernandes; Bowen, Summerville; Castellanos.
Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Wilson, Pablo, Magassa, Scarles, Potts, Kante.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Hincapie, Odegaard, Martinelli, Madueke, Havertz, Zubimendi, Dowman.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
David Hytner
It was a soundbite designed to go viral, the kind the ex-pros in the TV studios are always looking to confect; snappy, heavy on hyperbole, bang in the moment. Thierry Henry made it pop on Tuesday night as he interviewed Bukayo Saka on CBS Sports after Arsenal had beaten Atlético Madrid to advance to the Champions League final. “We were the Invincibles. You will be the Unforgettables,” Henry said.
There it was, as laid out by one of the greats, the goalscoring hero of Arsenal’s unbeaten bolt to the 2004 Premier League title, the last one they won.
Saka, who scored the winner in the second leg at a delirious Emirates Stadium, and his teammates can see the path to glory. Actually, it is more than that. It would be immortality. Because if they can hold off Manchester City to win the league and add the Champions League in Budapest on 30 May, it would top anything any group of Arsenal players has achieved.
Preamble
Hello. If you’re going to win your first title in 22 years, you might as well slay a few demons en route. Arsenal’s traumatic collapse in the 2022-23 season, their first title challenge under Mikel Arteta, gathered pace during a 2-2 draw at West Ham in which they lost a two-goal lead and Bukayo Saka missed a penalty.
Arsenal have scored 11 goals on their two subsequent visits to the London Stadium – but a scruffy 1-0 win today would be far more meaningful. Many people, including Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, think the title race will be over if Arsenal get the job done today.
On paper they have a tougher fixture on the final day, away to 15th-placed Crystal Palace. But while Palace are almost certainly safe – and play their first European final three days after the Arsenal game – West Ham are fighting for their Premier League lives.
They’re a point behind Spurs, who play Leeds tomorrow, and have an inferior goal difference. The atmosphere at the London Stadium hasn’t always been the best, but it will surely be ferocious come kick-off time.
It’s close to a must-win game for both teams, which means something has to give. A helluva lot has to give.
Kick-off 4.30pm BST.
