Arsenal’s clash with West Ham at the Emirates will be a crucial test for the home side’s title ambitions, while West Ham are also in dire need of points to keep alive their hopes of finishing in the top 10.
Under the leadership of Graham Potter, the “Hammers” have not really improved and need an impressive performance to regain confidence.
Despite possessing a quality squad, Arsenal still faces many difficulties when a series of key players are injured. Below is a summary of the force situation of both teams before the big match.
Michail Antonio – Long-term Out
West Ham’s main striker is still unable to return after a serious leg injury suffered in a car accident. This is a big loss for the “Hammer” attack.
Crysencio Summerville – Unable to play
Coach Graham Potter confirmed that Summerville is still not fit enough and can only return after the international break.
Lucas Paquete – Ankle injury
The Brazilian creative midfielder has an ankle injury and will definitely miss this match. His ability to play against Leicester is also in doubt.
Vladimir Coufal – Hamstring Injury
Although he did not suffer a serious injury, Coufal has not fully recovered and the match against Arsenal is considered too soon for him to return.
Niclas Fullkrug – Long-term injury
The German striker will not feature in this match due to a serious yet undisclosed problem.
Arsenal need a win to keep up with Liverpool.
Arsenal: Lost a series of key players
Gabriel Jesus – Out for the rest of the season
An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has kept Jesus out of action for a long time. This is a big loss for Arsenal as they lose a versatile striker.
Kai Havertz – Hamstring surgery, out for the rest of the season
Coach Mikel Arteta said the German midfielder suffered a sudden injury during training in Dubai and was forced to undergo surgery. This means Arsenal will lack an important attacking option.
Takehiro Tomiyasu – Knee Surgery
Despite undergoing minor surgery and treatment as planned, the Japanese defender still had problems and was forced to undergo another surgery. He will only be able to return at the end of this year.
Bukayo Saka – Hamstring injury
Saka will not be able to play until at least the end of March. Without their number one winger, Arsenal will have great difficulty in creating breakthroughs.
Gabriel Martinelli – Return date unknown
Martinelli is also unavailable, although the extent of his injury has not been revealed. This is a heavy blow to Arsenal’s attack.
The only ray of hope: The only good news for Arsenal is that defender Ben White has recovered and is fit to play. However, Arteta has not yet decided whether he will start or not.
Both teams have suffered major losses, but Arsenal are clearly in more trouble as their attack has been severely damaged. The absence of Jesus, Saka, Havertz and Martinelli will cause the Gunners to lose flexibility and the ability to attack the flanks.
West Ham, despite not having stars like Paquete, Antonio and Coufal, still have enough replacements to cause trouble for Arsenal. Coach Potter can take advantage of the opponent’s personnel decline to deploy a sharp counter-attacking style.
With the current situation, Arsenal will have to rely on the remaining factors such as Odegaard, Rice, Trossard to maintain the hope of winning 3 points. This will be a difficult match, where the spirit and depth of the squad will decide the final result.