Unai Emery is gone, but the winless streak for Arsenal remains. It turns out the severe problems at Arsenal go well beyond the Spaniard. Two games into the Freddie Ljungberg (caretaker manager) era, the Gunners have acquired just one point, and fallen to tenth in the table.
That single point was extremely hard earned too as they had to come back from a goal down (twice) against 19th-place Norwich City in order to obtain it. They’ll complete this weekend’s action with a Monday nighter at 16th place West Ham United, a team that just upset Chelsea at home. Arsenal come into this one desperate for a win, as they have not achieved a victory in their last nine across all competitions.
In looking at the team news for this one, starting with the hosts, winger Michael Antonio is a doubt, due to a groin injury. Same for midfielder Jack Wilshere, who possibly won’t get the opportunity to face the club that he was with for a very long time. Meanwhile Lukasz Fabianski (hip, 28 Dec) and Manuel Lanzini (shoulder) remain out long term.
Switching over to the visitors, midfielder Dani Ceballos remains out with a hamstring/thigh issue, with a targeted return date of Dec 21 vs Everton. Rob Holding remains out indefinitely with a knee injury.
West Ham vs. Arsenal FYIs
Kickoff: Monday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m. London Stadium
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal West Ham
Google Result Probability: Arsenal FC win 47% Draw 24% West Ham United win 29%
Official: Mike Dean
Form Guide: West Ham United LWLLL Arsenal FC LDDLD
Odds: Arsenal FC win 19/20 Draw 3/1 West Ham United win 11/4
Prediction: West Ham 2, Arsenal 2
The struggle continues.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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