Paul Merson expects Arsenal to secure a comfortable victory against West Ham in the London derby this evening.
Writing in his Sportskeeda column, Merson said that the Gunners’ recent performances and the return of captain Martin Odegaard means he is confident that they can overcome their opponents pretty easily:
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“I cannot see anything but an Arsenal win here. I saw them in action against Sporting in the Champions League and Arsenal completely destroyed that team. The same thing happened with Nottingham Forest last weekend, I can
sense Arsenal finding their mojo again after a few tough results.”
“Martin Odegaard is different class, what a player. He makes Bukayo Saka 10 times better! Don’t get me wrong, Saka is a good player but Odegaard just elevates him to another level. West Ham got an incredible 2-0 win away at Newcastle. But they are never going to keep this free-flowing Arsenal team out of the game.”
What score has Merson predicted?
The Sky Sports pundit has gone with a 3-0 win for Arsenal, which is a result that would delight fans. Mikel Arteta’s side have already scored 8 times in their last 2 games so another convincing victory would cap off an excellent week.
Putting a run of results together heading into the festive period is crucial, especially if the team wants to stay in contention for the Premier League title.
West Ham v Arsenal team news
There are doubts about Gabriel’s fitness heading into Saturday’s fixture, with the Brazilian having been forced off late on during the 5-1 win over Sporting. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu (both knee) have already been ruled out.
For Arsenal’s opponents, there are question marks over Jean Clair Todibo, who was substituted against Newcastle earlier this week, while Niclas Fullkrug (Achilles) and Mohammed Kudus (suspension) are both unavailable.
Find out who is in Arsenal’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here