Having followed up the cup win over Tottenham with a disappointing but expected defeat to Manchester United, it’s difficult to know what West Ham will turn up today.
We seem to be one of the most inconsistent teams in the country at the moment, with unexpected wins overshadowing the disappointment of drawing or losing games that we really should be winning.
Still, it’s a London derby against Arsenal today, and normally means it’ll at least be a decent game of football and we’re bound to see goals. Although it’s clear we’d much prefer to see Wojciech Szczesny picking the ball out of the net more often than either Jussi Jaaskelainen or Adrian, depending on which one Sam Allardyce chooses to go with.
On the subject of Adrian, he has shown all the signs of a quality goalkeeper over the last two games. His distribution against Spurs in particular what refreshing after a season-and-a-half of the complete opposite from Jussi.
It would be nice to see him starting again against Arsenal and show the Upton Park faithful what he’s all about. A run of games will only help him improve and develop as a goalkeeper, so it’d be a tad unfair on him to be dropped this afternoon.
Arsenal have looked good this season and will want to take all three points away from the Boleyn Ground to give them the best possible chance of taking top-spot by the end of the day.
It’s going to be another tough game for us and a point would prove to be a great result, despite our desperation to start pulling away from the bottom three.
Verdict: There’ll be goals. Score draw.
Team News:
West Ham United (17th, 11 points)
Captain Kevin Nolan returns to the side after serving a three match ban.
James Tomkins is expected to feature despite being charged with assaulting a police officer earlier this week.]
Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te and Winston Reid all miss out through long-term injury.
Arsenal (2nd, 36 points)
Jack Wilshere sits out as he completes a two-match ban, but Arsene Wenger may recall defender Laurent Koscielny after he sat the last game out with a cut knee.
Last 10 Meetings:
Match in Numbers:
6 – The Hammers have lost their last six meetings with Arsenal in all competitions.
9 – West Ham have failed to score in nine of their 17 league games so far this season – which is the joint worst record in the top-flight.
3 – The Hammers have won their last three Boxing Day fixtures, scoring nine goals in the process.
100 – This is Arsenal’s 100th London derby away from home in the Premier League.
1 – Arsene Wenger has lost only one Boxing Day fixture as Arsenal manager. (1999).
16 – Arsenal have picked up 16 points on their travels so far this season, which is the join best record in the Premier League.
2 – West Ham are unbeaten in their last two games at the Boleyn Ground, keeping clean sheets in both.
Head-to-Head (all competitions):
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD +/- | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 177 | 50 | 45 | 82 | 233 | 318 | -85 | 28.25% |
